Inner Peace: an Exalted Tale
by SquiddlyDiddly
Summary: The war with Plegia was finally over, but Chrom still had regrets. There was people he could have saved, things he could have avoided. His wife Robin, naturally, is worried about him. She decides to bring him on a beach vacation courtesy of Anna and her wondrous Outrealm Gate. Things don't exactly go as planned, much to their confusion. Set inbetween KFP 1 and 2. Rating may go up.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello my lovelies, and welcome to the latest weird idea that my mind thought was cool. I know that I have two other fanfictions that I'm working on at the moment, and adding another one to my plate isn't the best move, but I absolutely love how this has come out some far so I don't really care. If you're wondering how I got this idea, blame me rewatching Kung Fu Panda 1-3 recently and my brain wanting to do a Chrobin fic at the same time.**

**This was originally going to be just a little pet project of my own on paper, but after getting through two chapters I am so happy with how this story is shaping up already, and I've got too many ideas going forward for me not to want to share it with my readers, so here I am with ****Inner Peace: an Exalted Tale****. You can compare this to my other ongoing story, ****A Future Past, A New Fate****, just in a different animated film that I adore and instead of Lucina it's Robin and Chrom. Is it going to have the same story? Absolutely not, that's repetitive and boring.**

**Alright, that's enough ranting about how much work I already have and how stupid I am for adding another story on top of that. Go ahead and enjoy this first chapter I've cooked up.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fire Emblem or Kung Fu Panda, though if I did I would stop taking down every OST video in existance.**

* * *

Inner Peace: an Exalted Tale

Chapter 1: Regrets and Relaxation

* * *

The war between Ylisse and Plegia was finally over. The Mad King Gangrel was dead. With a combination of Chrom's unwavering determination and Robin's impeccable tactics, the Shepherds were able to bring him down once and for all.

It has been a month since that very day, but Chrom could still clearly remember Gangrel's last words as he looked him in the eye with Falchion through his abdomen.

"Every man lives… and dies… alone…"

Peace had come to the land of Ylisse. He had married the woman he loved. He was going to be crowned Exalt.

So why did he feel so… hollow?

He didn't feel sorry for Gangrel, oh no. That demon could burn in the deepest pit of hell for all he cared. But every time he thought of the war, and the people who gave their life for this cause, he couldn't help but feel guilty. Like he could've done better.

He _should've _done better.

"Chrom?" He heard his wife's voice ring out from behind, breaking him from his own depressive funk.

He turned on the stool he was sitting on, just in time to see Robin's beautiful silver hair poke out from the doorway. He would never understand how she kept it so perfect.

"There you are," she said as she stepped into the room. "I've been looking all over for you! Maybe I should put a bell around your neck so you don't wander off…"

Chrom chuckled at his wife's sense of humor. She was always good with jokes. "I-I don't think that will be necessary," he said as he got up from the stool, the wood creaking beneath him.

Robin looked like she was about to retort, but her smile that he always loved seeing quickly faded into a worried frown. "...You've been thinking about the war again, haven't you?"

Chrom grimaced. That was the other thing she was always good at; reading him like an open book. He sighed, knowing there wasn't any hiding it. "Is it really that obvious…?"

"Chrom, you know you can talk to me, right? The war is over. We _won_," She took her lover's hands in her own. "The others are getting worried about you."

"I know, I know, it's just…" He sighed again, running a hand through his hair. "I can't help but feel… guilty. We won, but… so many people had to die. I feel like I could've saved them if I was strong enough," He voiced his feelings, his hand never leaving hers.

Robin's worried gaze softened in pity. She hated when he got down on himself like this.

"I know, I should just stop worrying about the past, but I just can't stop thinking about it…" He said, his gaze wandering around the room, unable to look her in the eye.

"No…" Robin said, drawing his eyes back to her own. "I feel the same way. About Ricken, Emmeryn, Sumia… I feel like I could've saved them had my plans been more fine-tuned."

Chrom's chest tightened in deep sadness when she mentioned his sister's name. "Robin… I-I'm sorry, I had no idea you felt this way. I should've realized,"

His wife giggled, a light sound that made him fall in love with her all over again whenever he heard it. "It's fine, love. I just hide it better because I've… moved on. I can't change the past, so I must learn from my mistakes and move forward."

"You make it sound so easy," he said. "Believe me when I say I've tried. I just… can't."

Robin eyed Chrom with a great sadness as he moved away from her to stare blankly out the window.

'I hate seeing him like this… but what can I do?' She hated not knowing all the possible routes and answers. It made her feel vulnerable.

Then it hit her. She gasped, suddenly knowing a way to get Chrom's mind off of things, if only for a little while.

"What? What's the matter?" said Chrom, having heard her gasp.

Robin had that look on her face, whenever she had an idea she got this glint in her eye. "Do you remember that beach Anna invited us to?"

"...Yes, but not particularly fondly."

* * *

"You two came to the right place for a vacation getaway!" Anna said in her usual chipper tone as she led them through the outskirts of Ylisse, her large bag of various trinkets jingling lightly with each step.

"This is such a bad idea…" Chrom muttered as he walked beside Robin, obviously uncomfortable.

"C'mon, it'll be fun! You need this, trust me," she chided, nudging him in the side.

"I don't even know where we are anymore!" He gestured at the barren plains Anna had led them to. "What if she tries to kill us out here?"

Robin quirked an eyebrow at him. "I highly doubt she will, but that's plan B," she said while tapping Falchion strapped to his hip, I knowing grin on her face.

"And if we get ambushed by _multiple _Annas?" He pushed, desperately trying to talk her out of this.

"Paranoid, are we? Not to worry, though, that's…" she smirked as she lifted her coat slightly, revealing an Arcthunder tome underneath. "Plan D."

Chrom didn't even want to think about what plan C was.

"Now quit worrying! I _know_ you're just trying to get out of this," She smirked as she watched her husband sheepishly grin, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Alrighty, this should be good!" Anna called back to the two as she suddenly stopped and reached into her bag, pulling out what looked like a tiny stone archway. Robin recognized this as an Outrealm Gate, entrances to strange new worlds and their ticket to rest and relaxation.

"Sorry about the long walk," Anna said as she fiddled with the tiny archway in her hands. "These things get a little crazy around a lot of people."

Robin smiled at the merchant. "It was no problem, Anna. Thanks again for the discount,"

Anna returned the gesture, just before tossing the small archway onto the ground a couple feet away. There was a brief flash of light, and when it subsided the two saw a large archway standing where an empty space had been, a golden light shimmering in the middle. "Anything for the new Exalt and his queen!"

Chrom looked at the mysterious archway with a confused and apprehensive expression. "I'll never understand how she does that…" he muttered.

"Sorry, hun, trade secret," Anna said, slipping her bag back over her shoulder.

Robin looked over to her husband, smirking at how worried he still looked. "You ready, Chrom? I can't _wait_ to see you in that swimsuit again," she teased, remembering how embarrassed he was about it last time.

As expected, Chrom blushed hard, his entire face turning red. "Oh, Gods, I forgot about that thing…"

She laughed at his expense. "Don't worry, it'll just be you and me, so I'll be the only one you're giving a show to,"

If it was possible, Chrom became even redder.

Behind them, Anna groaned. "Alright, c'mon, let's go. I've got more people to sca- I mean, barter with!" She quickly corrected, hoping they didn't notice her slip up.

Fortunately for her, they didn't say anything. Unfortunately for her, they didn't pay any attention to her at all, continuing their lovey-dovey talk.

She gave the two a deadpan glare at the backs of their heads. Anna groaned again, exasperated. 'I hate when I have to do things myself…'

"Well, thank you for your patronage, and please stop by AGAIN!" She said, and with the final word she quickly dashed up to the couple and heaved against their backs, pushing the two unsuspecting lovers right through the shimmering expanse of the portal, not giving them any time to react or voice shouts of surprise.

She dusted off her hands as she looked at her handiwork, the light wavering from it's disruption. The two had gone cleanly through, no signs of them even being here remained.

"Another satisfied customer," she muttered, before snapping her fingers, ready to collect the Gate and head back to Ylisse. The populace wasn't going to scam itself!

Then the Gate exploded.

Anna cried in shock when the Outrealm Gate suddenly shone brightly, before imploding upon itself, sending bits of polished stone everywhere. She shielded her eyes from the brightness and the debris, grunting when some of the bits impacted her arms. She only lowered them when she was sure there was no more debris.

She swallowed nervously when she saw that the Gate had been completely destroyed from some unseen force, the area now covered in erant pieces of rock.

"That's… probably not good."

* * *

The city of Gongmen was bustling with people, as it usually was at this time of day. Citizens going about their lives as they waded through the large crowds, bouncing from shop to shop. Even the higher ups were busy, what with the winter solstice a month away, which meant preparations for the Winter Festival were under way.

Yes, the whole city was bustling… save for one person.

The soothsayer Ah-ma was content with fixing up some tea, watching with a soft smile as the cup slowly filled with the herbal liquid, it's subtle aroma wafting up to her nose.

She often used her tea cups and bowls as a conduit for her predictions, but not today. Today the spirits and auras were still, so she just wanted to relax with a nice cup of herbal tea.

She sighed as she slowly sat down on the balcony of the tower she has resided in for quite some time now, taking a sip of the soothing drink as she did so. Having such a prestigious seat in Gongmen's council as… well, the soothsayer, she had been granted generous accommodations in one of the noble towers, high above the rest of the city.

Frankly, she found it a tad pretentious, but it was free, so she wasn't complaining. Her mind was much clearer away from the hustle and bustle of the main city, and the view from her room was stunning.

It didn't compare to the view she had when she had called the Tower of the Sacred Flame her home, however.

Ah-ma sighed as she took another sip of her tea, memories that she had long since tried to bury resurfacing. The days she had called the tower her home were some of her happiest.

And then, she had told the prophecy.

Sometimes she wondered what would've happened if she never spoke of the damned prophecy. Would Shiu and Yan still be alive? Would Shen still be a loveable peacock, unfilled with hate?

She shook her head, banishing such wishful thinking. The massacre of the pandas was of Shen's own doing. He chose to go down such a dark path, and thus sealing his fate. Besides, there is no changing the past, only learning from it and moving on. She had learned this many, many years ago.

She went to take another sip of her tea, only to find it disappointingly empty. The old goat frowned. She must've been more caught up in her own thoughts than she realized.

Ah-ma went to go wash off her cup, but abruptly paused when the grounds on the bottom caught her eye. Normally she disregarded these since she was here to enjoy tea, not tell fates, but she recognized the pattern from somewhere.

She inspected the bottom of the cup for a moment before her eyes widened with shock. The last time she had seen something like this was thirty years ago.

She quickly looked up to the sky above, ignoring the brightness, just in time to witness a tiny, far away flash of light, imperceptible to the unwatchful eye.

Ah-ma, however, was watching.

"There is another… another like him," She whispered, her voice full of trepidation and hope. She would have to get more supplies if she wanted to see a more clear vision of this unexpected foretelling, but until then, she must think on this new development.

* * *

Robin couldn't quite remember the last time she had felt so disoriented.

Her vision swam and blurred as her eyelids slid open, a headache pounding the inside of her skull. She instinctively brought a hand to her head in an effort to quell the pain spreading through her, her eyes wrenching shut in discomfort.

She groaned as she slowly sat up, noting a strange sensation in her neck and her back as she did so. 'Ugh… Wh-what happened…?' She thought to herself, even the simple act of thinking enough to rile her headache up. The last thing she remembered was staring at the Outrealm Gate, trying to talk Chrom into entering with her, and then she felt a strong push from behind.

Robin figured out what happened almost immediately. "...I'm going to personally murder Anna when I see her again," she muttered, sighing in exasperation.

She sat there for a moment as she let the pain subside slightly. Once it felt more like the back end of a spoon pounding against her head instead of a hammer, she slowly opened her eyes once more, blinking rapidly so her eyesight would come back into focus.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for it to return, though her surroundings weren't any less confusing.

"This is… peculiar," she muttered as she glanced around at what was quite obviously a strange forest and _not _a beach. The trees around her were none that she had ever seen, if she could even call them trees. They were more like thin green poles with a few branches sprouting tiny, bunched up leaves. A light fog swam through the air, adding to the sense of mystery and making it harder to see more than five feet ahead.

'Huh… that's weird,' she thought to herself when she felt her neck swiveling in an odd way as she looked around her, the muscles twisting in angles it shouldn't be able to. Curious as to why this was, Robin glanced downwards.

Had she been mentally prepared for what she was about to see, she probably wouldn't have reacted in the way she did. Given the circumstances, however, it was understandable why she screamed in shock upon seeing that her hands no longer had skin, but feathers. Long, white, _feathers._

"WAAAGH! WHAT IN NAGA'S-" She yelled, scrambling backwards in pure shock. This action, of course, brought her attention to how strangely thin her legs felt, and how her feet felt _sharper._

Another look was all Robin needed to confirm her growing fears. Her torso was covered with smaller versions of the pure white feathers her hands turned into, her legs were spindly and bending at an unfamiliar angle, and she had honest-to-Naga talons for feet now. _Talons!_

"I've been turned into a bird thing. WHY AM I A BIRD THING?!" She exclaimed in shock and disbelief as her eyes darted across her new, incredibly strange form. Interesting enough, she was still wearing her tacticians garb, save for her undershirt, and she could still feel her tomes under her coat and her Levin Sword hidden up her sleeve. 'At least I still have the means to defend myself… if I can even _hold_ a tone anymore,' she thought as she stared intently at her feathery hands, her mind running a mile a minute trying to think of any answers as to why this has happened.

"Robin! Robin, is that you?" She heard her husband's voice call from behind her. Relief flooded her body when his familiar baritone reached her ears, thankful that she wouldn't have to figure out whatever the hell was going on alone.

"Oh my Gods, Chrom, am I glad to see y-" Robin started, turning around so she could talk to her husband, but abruptly stopped when he entered her line of sight, her eyes widening further.

Instead of a normal human being with a blue head of hair standing behind her like she expected, there was an anthropomorphic _wolf _with blue fur covering it from head to toe, dressed in Chrom's usual attire complete with his cape, ripped sleeve, and Falchion strapped to his hip. She could even see a patch of lighter blue fur on his shoulder in the shape of the Mark of the Exalt.

"Chrom?" "Robin?" The two said at the same time, both sounding extremely surprised and confused.

"What happened to you?" The Exalt-turned-wolf asked, walking closer to the tactician so he could get a better look at what she was. His eyes were the size of dinner plates, and his muzzle was hanging open slightly, giving Robin a clear view of his new fangs.

"What happened to _me?_ What happened to you?" She shot back, gesturing at his new body with her wings. "I don't remember you being so furry!"

Even with the absurdity of the whole situation, Chrom couldn't help but chuckle, relieved his wife was the same old Robin he knew, even if she was some strange bird now. "True, but I don't really remember you having quite such a long neck, or feathers for that matter." He said. "Not to mention that tail you've got back there,"

Robin tilted her head when he said that. 'Tail?' Turning her neck to look behind her, she was startled to see she had _quite _the long tail, white feathers with some purple markings flowing onto the grassy floor behind her. "Wow… you weren't kidding," she said, now keenly aware of some new muscles that she had never felt before in her new appendage.

Chrom walked up to his wife, looking around at their surroundings. "So, any idea where we ar- WAH!" He yelled out in surprise when there was a sudden flourish of movement to his immediate right, though his shock lessened when he realized it was just his wife. "Woah…" He muttered once he saw what had caused such a sudden motion.

Robin's newly discovered tail was now fanned out behind her instead of laying limp on the ground, showing off just how _long _it actually was. Her tail feathers stood high above her head, the purple markings that had seemed random now came together to form the strange mark that was once on the back of her hand.

"How _fascinating…_" Robin muttered, running a wing across the broad expanse of her tail, the long feathers wavering under her soft touch.

"How did you do that?" Chrom asked, mesmerized by the pattern her tail feathers came together to form.

Robin glanced back at him in surprise, like she had forgotten he was even there. "I… I don't know. It just felt natural," she was with uncertainty, her feathers flattering themselves back out behind her.

Chrom rolled his eyes playfully, chuckling under his breath. 'Leave it to Robin to figure out how her new body operates less than ten minutes after waking up with it…'

"Now that you've figured _that_ out, do you have any idea where we are?" He asked, hoping that she would have something that could help their situation.

Said tactician gave him a deadpan look. "Chrom, we just went through an Outrealm Gate, which quite literally means we could be anywhere. Of course if don't know where we are," she said before groaning in exasperation. "I'm going to _strangle _Anna when we get back…"

Chrom rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, inwardly cringing at how furry he felt. "Er, r-right…" he mumbled. "Well then, let's plan our course of action. Maybe we should look for a town of sorts?" He paused. "...Do they even have towns here? I mean, we are _animals,_"

Robin put a wing to her chin, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Hmm…" she hummed to herself, that tactician's mind hard at work with considering all of the possibilities. "Yes, we are indeed animals… I don't know how, but the Gate must have changed us to fit into this world," she rationalized, gesturing to both of their new forms.

Chrom wondered where she was going with this, but realization quickly dawned on him. "So… if we were turned into animals to fit this place, then all of the people here are animal-people?"

Robin nodded, glad he was thinking on the same wavelength as her. "Exactly. If we can still talk instead of squawking and barking at each other, and we're both still wearing out clothes, I bet this place is fairly civilized. So our best bet right now is to find a town nearby, and get the lay of the land. Then we'll know what we're dealing with," she explained, the foundations of her plan now fully set.

Chrom shrugged and nodded in agreement, not finding any faults in her line of thinking. "Sounds like a plan. We should get moving then," he went to move, then paused. "Though, with this fog it makes it hard to see anything…" He said, squinting through the humid air.

"I've got just the thing," Robin said before reaching into her coat and pulling out a basic Fire tome. She cracked the book open in one of her wings, and with a flourish of her hand a small ball of flame appeared in the other, illuminating the area around them. "I always carry a Fire tome just in case we need some light. Now let's go, we don't know what's lurking in the fog out here," she said, picking a random direction and beginning to trek.

'It's scary how prepared she is sometimes…' Chrom thought to himself before bounding up to his wife's side, not wanting to get left behind in the fog.

* * *

Their walk, for the most part, was uneventful. Chrom spent most of it trying to get used to the fact that he was some sort of wolf now. It was incredibly strange to feel his tail moving like it had a mind of it's own back there, not to mention how weird it felt to have fur. His teeth were a lot sharper as well, and his claws looked like they could tear through flesh with ease.

As much as he was focused on his own new form, he couldn't help but find his gaze drawn towards Robin. Even if she wasn't human anymore, he still somehow found her beautiful. The light from the small fireball glistened off of her new feathers, giving them a silvery shine like her hair used to. Speaking of her hair, she didn't have the locks he was familiar with, but some long feathers sprouting from the top of her head gave the illusion of hair. The small crest of feathers on the back of her head that reminded him of her tail when she had fully fanned it out further added to her beauty.

Robin glanced at Chrom, having felt a pair of eyes staring at her. "Something the matter, Chrom?"

"Hm? Oh, no," he said, caught up in his thoughts. "I'm just trying to figure out how you managed to still look beautiful as a bird,"

Even with the minimal light they had, the blush that erupted across Robin's face was plainly visible. "Please… you embarrass me, there's no way that's true," she said, ever the modest one.

"I'm serious! You look exactly the same as the woman I fell in love with, just with feathers, and a longer neck," he insisted, that goofy smile he always got when he talked to her clearly spread across his muzzle.

Robin giggled. "Sometimes I can't believe you're the same man who said he didn't consider me a lady,"

"Ooh… yeah, that wasn't on of my… brightest moments," Chrom grimaced as he thought back on that day, remembering how awkward it was and the many bruises he accumulated from Robin chasing him around the camp.

"Well, I'm glad my looks haven't diminished, and I must admit, you still look good yourself." She wasn't lying. Even as a wolf Chrom looked incredibly handsome. His face was still angular and chiseled, just in a different way, and his physique was just as burly and toned as before, perhaps even more so. His new canines made him look tough and menacing, but his fluffy fur made him look approachable at the same time.

"Really? Well then, I'm glad our opinions of each other haven't changed," he said, laughing quietly while his tail wagged instinctively behind him.

Robin smirked. "Careful, Chrom. You don't know how your body works yet, much less how it works down there," she teased, none to subtly pointing down at his pants.

His tail abruptly froze, and his eyes widened in mortification. He coughed awkwardly, his blush plainly visible even with the dark fur on his cheeks. "R-right…"

'It's so easy to embarrass him,' Robin mused, silently laughing to herself.

* * *

It wasn't long before the fog began to thin out, finally allowing the sun to shine down on the two travelers. Robin dismissed the small conjured fireball with a flick of her wrist, slipping the red tome back into her coat when the natural light was adequate enough.

"Glad we're out of there! I missed being able to see," Chrom said, happiness evident in his tone as he soaked in the sun's rays, the warmth pleasantly enveloping his fur. He hadn't noticed how chilly that foggy forest had been until now.

Robin was relieved they were out of the forest as well. The air seemed fresher already, and now they were much less prone to ambushes and the like. "Let's keep moving. Hopefully, a town isn't too far," she said, keeping a wingtip on the Levin Sword in her sleeve just in case. "If we're quick about it, we can get there by nightfall. I bet you're getting hungry already, eh Chrom?" She teased, though she quickly realized he wasn't by her side anymore.

She blinked in confusion. She didn't even hear him move. "Chrom?" She called again, glancing around. Thankfully, he hadn't gone far, just over to the beginning of what looked like a steep hilltop, overseeing a small plateau-like area. He was clearly staring at something, though what it was she could not tell.

She walked up to her husband, a little confused. "What's the matter? We should get moving-" she started to speak, but abruptly stopped when she realized what exactly he had found.

It was a town. A small one, sure, but it was a sign of civilization, houses spread in a small circle tucked neatly in between large hilltops. More importantly, however, were the civilians. While it was a little hard to tell from their vantage point, they were animals. Animals that walked on two legs, wore clothing, and walked about the village like how an ordinary human would. _Animal-people._

She had been right.

"...Sometimes I wonder just how lucky I was to find you in that clearing," Chrom said, amazed at how accurate her guess was.

"More than you know…" she said, a little impressed at herself for getting so much of their situation correct. "You'd probably be dead right now if it weren't for me,"

Chrom grimaced at her bluntness. Given how he knew next to nothing about tactics, and the next best thing to her genius was _Virion? _"You're probably right."

* * *

The walk down the hill and into the town thankfully didn't result in one of them tumbling down it's steep slope rather painfully, although Chrom did almost trip and fall a couple times.

The town itself was absolutely _fascinating _to Robin. They had only been walking through the paved streets for a couple of minutes, but they had already passed merchant carts and shops that were selling produce and trinkets she's never seen before, and the architecture of each building was completely foreign to her. What worried her a tad was that the symbols that she noticed on signs and what not were _also _completely foreign to her. She hoped that this place would use the same Ylissean language she had come to know, but that's obviously not the case.

"This place is so interesting…" she mumbled, looking at what appeared to be a lantern made out of paper with intricate designs on it. "It's crazy how _different _this world is,"

Chrom, however, wasn't very interested in the buildings or the merchant carts. He was more concerned by the fact that they had yet to cross paths with a single person. They had seen multiple civilians from atop the hill, so where had they all gone? It was like they had just disappeared. 'I've got a bad feeling about this…' He thought, his brow furrowed as he tried to look for anyone he could speak to.

Thankfully, Lady Luck seemed to be listening to his pleas, because the next moment a bunny came wandering out of one of the side streets, carrying a sack that was filled to the brim with some kind of white grain-like substance.

Chrom sighed in relief. 'I was starting to think I was going crazy,'

"Excuse me, sir!" He called to the rabbit, putting on a friendly smile so he would seem less threatening.

The bunny almost dropped the bag he was carrying when Chrom's voice rang out, surprised by the sudden call out. Then he actually _did _drop the bag when he saw the strange wolf walking up to him, a peacock following behind.

"WAGH!" He cried out in shock, immediately dropping his bag and shaking like a leaf in the wind from fear. "P-please d-don't h-h-hurt me!" The bunny exclaimed, obviously terrified of them. "I-I d-don't have anything e-else to give you!"

"What? No! No, no no no, we're not going to hurt you," Chrom tried to assure the scared civilian, putting his hands up in front of him as a universal sign of peace. If there was one thing he wasn't expecting from the bunny, it was pure terror.

Then again, he was a wolf now, and he was currently towering over this admittedly small bunny like a predator would. It was understandable that he would be scared.

The bunny stopped shaking, slowly opening an eye to stare at them apprehensively. "R… Really? You're not gonna hurt me?"

"No, of course not," Robin pitches in, walking up from behind Chrom. "We're just a little… lost, is all."

Chrom stifled a snort of indignation. "That's the understatement of the era…" he mumbled.

The bunny didn't say anything for a moment, just staring at the two like they would pounce, then he sighed in relief, his whole body loosening up almost instantly. "Oh, thank goodness…" he said, before reaching down and scooping up the bag that fell, disregarding the white stuff that had spilled onto the floor. "S-sorry about that, strangers! I thought you were bandits or something," he shivered, uncomfortable with even mentioning the word. "Anyway, you're in Xiao village. Sorry about the confusion!" And with that, he began to walk away, bag in tow.

"Wait, hold on!" Chrom called to the bunny, wanting to ask him something.

The bunny abruptly stopped once more, almost dropping the bag again as he turned back to face them. "Y-yes?" He asked, grunting from effort.

"You confused us for bandits? Do you have a problem with brigands around here?" Chrom asked, not liking the bunny's tone when he mentioned the word 'bandit'.

The bunny rapidly nodded in confirmation, his eyes wide with fear. "Oh, yes, it's b-been _horrible!_ They came and take our food, our yuan… we've been trying to write to the Council of Kung Fu so they can help, but so far we've got nothing!" He exclaimed.

Robin nodded while she listened, picking out important bits of info. 'Xiao village… yuan… Council of Kung Fu? It's sounding more and more that we're in a different world entirely,' she thought, piecing together what she's been given so far.

Chrom's brow furrowed in anger and worry. "The Kung Fu Council? Are they the peacekeepers of this land?" He questioned further, trying to replicate how the bunny pronounced Kung Fu.

The bunny blinked in surprise. "You don't know about the council? Where are you two even from?"

"Let's just say… a long, _long _ways from here," Robin said cryptically, not wanting to reveal they were from a different world entirely.

The bunny gave her a strange look, but didn't object to her statement. "Well… the Council of Kung Fu are kinda like the peacekeepers, yeah. All the masters of Kung Fu make sure that China is safe, like in Gongmen! After the peacock rulers there died," he gave a pointed look at Robin, which didn't go unnoticed by her. "The Council our Master Thundering Rhino in charge of the city until they could find a replacement ruler."

Chrom half snorted in anger. "If you're having a bandit problem, then it doesn't sound like they're doing a good job," he said. He knew what it was like to play peacekeeper. That was what the Shepherds were, after all, and while he knew he wasn't perfect, he would never ignore a small village facing a problem like this.

"Well…" the bunny said, looking sheepish, which was a little ironic. "China is a huge place, and the Council is really far away, so trading messages and sending help could take days, or even weeks! I don't blame them, but I wish they were faster."

Robin nodded sagely, agreeing with the bunny's words. "Patience is key when it comes to communicating with the higher ups." She glanced over to Chrom, who looked quite upset with the village's situation. "You should know this better than anyone, Chrom."

Said Exalt sighed, knowing she was correct. "Yes… yes, you're right, my love, as usual. I just… wish there was something we could do."

Chrom was immediately interrupted by screams in the distance, followed by the crashing and banging of things getting knocked down.

The bunny's ears went from being held above his head to dropping down to his back, his eyes wide with terror. "O-oh n-no… they're b-back!" He cried, before taking off into the street that had suddenly filled with all sorts of animals while they weren't watching, all of them noticeably avoiding the duo even in their panic.

They looked at each other, knowing looks on both of their faces. "You wanted a way to help? You've got one." Robin said.

Chrom firmly nodded in agreement, his hand instinctively going to his side where Falchion was. "Good. I need to blow off some steam," he growled.

"Try not to go berserk his time, please. The last time you said that, I had to spend almost all of our monthly funds paying for the damage," she warned.

"R-right."

The two bounded off towards the danger, trying not to barrel anyone over, though thankfully the civilians were giving them a wide area of personal space. Whether it was from fear of them or getting trampled, they didn't care.

The Shepherds were back in business.

* * *

**Chapter 1 is done. First of all, I want to thank anyone and everyone for reading this, even if you don't like it I appreciate you taking the time to give little old me attention.**

**Secondly, if you have tips/nitpicks for this story, liked/didn't like it, please ****leave me a review****. Anything (besides flames) is greatly appreciated and gives me motivation to create more for you guys + improve my writing. Chapter 2 will be up soon, once I get it down into Google Docs since everything I have written up to this point is on paper.**

**Hopefully, Robin and Chrom aren't **_**too **_**OOC. Robin I'm not too worried about since they're the player character, and therefore can be whatever you choose, but Chrom is the one that is a tad worrisome. I haven't played Awakening in quite some time, so excuse my lack of familiarity of his character if there is any. I'll see you all next time.**

**Peace out gamers.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello my lovelies, welcome back to another chapter of Inner Peace: an Exalted Tale.**

**Like I said in the last chapter, chapter 2 was going to come out relatively quickly since I already had most of it on paper and I just needed to transcribe it to docs and make some tweaks. Chapter 3 might not be out for a while, so please bear with me for a moment here. Thanks to everyone that hit me with that good follow last time! Honestly didn't expect much traction from such a niche crossover.**

**Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy the story!**

* * *

Chapter 2

Brigands, and the Valley of Peace

* * *

It wasn't long before the two came across the heart of the action, what with this place being a relatively small village. Their enemy was easily noticeable, looking much different from the typical civilian they encountered on their run here. The ruffians looked similar to Chrom's new form, just shorter and a lot more scraggly looking. Their hunched backs and sharp teeth and claws made them look almost feral, and their shoddy equipment didn't exactly help in that regard. Crude leather armor covered patches of their fur, and although it might have protected against a very blunt edge, it was nothing but paper in the face of Falchion. Some carried weapons that were just as barbaric, a rusted axe here and a chipped hammer there.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time," The biggest thief asked, most likely the leader of the pack. He was holding a pig by the scruff of his neck, a gnarled steel sword in his free hand. He roared in the pig's face, "Where are you keeping the _yuan?!_"

The pig was scared out of his mind, trying their hardest to get away from their assailant. "I-I t-told you, I-I d-don't know!" He cried, fearing for his life.

The leader smirked, raising his weapon up to the pig threateningly, the rusted steel glinted dangerously in the sun. "Maybe you jus' need some _reminding _then…" he growled lowly, slowly bringing the blade closer to the pig's skin.

"Hey!" A voice called from their left, catching the gang's attention.

Chrom couldn't help but be disgusted by the sight before him. Homes and carts around them had been ransacked, leaving holes through walls and broken doors. He hated brigands with a passion. They left families destroyed, and people without homes. They were a stain on the soil of peace, and it was his job to clean it.

"Let him go." He ordered, making sure his voice sounded firm and authoritative. He needed to make sure these thieves knew that he meant business. He instinctively bared his teeth at them to further enforce his threat, his knuckles white under the fur from gripping Falchion's handle.

The leader eyed the two of them quizzically with a scowl on his face. "And who might you be?" He asked, not showing any signs of dropping his hostage.

"He _said_," Robin interrupted as she walked in front of Chrom, keeping her weapons hidden. "Let. Him. _Go._"

There was a beat of silence as the gang of thieves stared at her. Then they all burst in sudden laughter, the leader especially. "Ha ha haa! Are you hearing this, boys?!" He asked his team rhetorically, still chuckling while he did.

"This noble little peacock and her _dog,_" Robin's eyes narrowed at that word, but said nothing, knowing he was just trying to get her angry. It was the oldest trick in the book, an angry opponent is a predictable opponent. "Thinks they can order us around! Oh, that's rich!"

Chrom growled, and began to pull Falchion from its sheath, but Robin stopped him. "They're just trying to get under your skin. Just wait a moment." She whispered to him, a plan formulating in her mind.

The leader waited until the laughter died down before speaking again, his grin showing every one of his dirty teeth. "But alright. I'll bite," he chortled as he roughly shoved the pig away, allowing im to scramble to safety. The bandit eyed the sword on Chrom's hip hungrily, and his eyes hovered over Robin in a way that made the Exalt very uncomfortable. "That sword you got there looks like it'll be worth a heck of a lot more than anything this tiny place has to offer, and who knows how much yuan a noble is worth?" He said, gesturing to Falchion and Robin herself respectively. "Course, hope the buyers don't mind if we have some fun first…"

Threatening his wife was officially where Chrom drew the line, his face contorting in anger as he swiftly drew Falchion and held the blade in front of him, its weight comfortable in his hands. "You'll have to get through me!"

The leader smirked, seemingly unphased by Chrom's defiance. "No I won't," he said, before letting off a piercing howl into the air.

Chrom was confused as to why he was suddenly howling, when a flurry of motion behind him caught his attention. The Exalt's eyes widened when six more of the thugs came running out of ransacked houses and the rooftops, cutting off their exit and forming a line behind them.

"They'll take care of her for me!" The leader laughed, thinking they were good as defeated.

Chrom glanced between the thugs gathered around them, his grip on Falchion never wavering. The sword in his hands was a source of stability and comfort, but the presence standing behind him was the greatest strength he could ever have.

"Predictable…" He heard his wife mutter, and that familiar shot of adrenaline he got before a conflict shot through his veins.

"What's the plan?" He asked, his fury filled eyes moving from brigand to brigand, ready to rip them apart with his bare hands.

Even though he couldn't see her, he could tell that she was smirking triumphantly. In her mind, they had already won. "The ones that have weapons are most likely the stronger fighters. Get rid of the grunts, then take care of the elites. If we do that, then this will be easier than sparring with Stahl." She said with practiced authority, that familiar tone of voice she always had when giving out orders making him grip Falchion tensely, ready to pounce.

"Right. Let's get this over with," Chrom muttered darkly.

Robin must have noticed his fury, however, because she quickly added, "Use the flat of your blade."

"What?" Chrom said as he glanced back to her in shock, surprised by that order. She had never held back against lowlifes like this before, so why would she now?

"When we took care of bandit problems back in Ylisse, we killed them because we had the law behind our actions," Robin quickly explained. "We don't here. I really do not want to be a wanted murderer in a strange new land!"

Chrom scowled, but nodded in understanding. "I understand," he said, reluctantly tilting Flachion slightly so the blunt end was facing the bandits. Robin had taken out her weapon of choice as well, a basic Wind tome. She always carried a couple basic level spells and one high level spell of her choice, since they were effective and easy to come by.

The thieves in front of her noticed this, and began to laugh in her face. "That's all you've got? A _book?_" One cried, howling with laughter. "Yeah, what're you gonna do, bore us to death?" Another said in between chuckles.

Their laughter was quickly replaced by confusion when Robin joined them in laughing, flicking the tome open. "You'd be surprised what a good book can do to you," she said cryptically, the pages glowing with an otherworldly light. The thieves now looked a lot less confident than they did a moment ago, eyeing her warily.

"You'll remember this as the day you crossed paths with the Coyote Gang! ATTACK!" He commanded, pointing his gnarled sword at the duo.

With that one word, all hell broke loose in the small village of Xiao. The coyotes converged on their prey, expecting them to be easy pickings due to their numbers.

They weren't.

Chrom quickly held up Falchion to block the first coyote's attack, tilting the blade slightly so his sharp claws slid harmlessly off the metal. Then, using the momentum from the attack he whirled around and slammed the blunt part of the blade into the back of the coyote's head, sending him sprawling.

The next thief came from behind, and using quick reflexes that he has honed over the years he ducked under the coyote, hitting him with the pommel of his sword as he went overhead, effectively knocking him out with one strong strike. 'Two down,' he counted, getting back into a defensive stance.

Robin's magic made quick work of the first two coyotes that underestimated her, two quick bursts of wind magic sent them flying into the stone walls of the houses around them or the pavement below.

The four that had began to charge at her abruptly stopped when they saw their friends get thrown away by a strong wind that came from nowhere, glowing green energy slapping them aside like fleas. They stared wide-eyed with fear at their opponent, now aware that they had most likely bitten off more than they can chew. "Wha… what witchcraft is that?!" One of the four remaining coyotes said fearfully, eyeing the tome she held.

Robin's brow furrowed as she waved a wing over the pages of the tome, gathering more of the book's power. 'Interesting… does this world not have magic like our own?' She idly wondered, before remembering that her foe had asked her a question. "Exactly what you just said," she answered, before unleashing the magical energy underneath her, causing a huge wave of wind magic to spread around her, sweeping the two bandits on her sides off of their paws. It only took two more casts of the tome while they were airborne to slam them into the stone walls, almost identical to their previous brethren.

"It's magic." She said, smirking as the wind tome landed perfectly back into her wing. The coyote's confidence had been replaced fully with pure terror. 'Good… the more scared your opponent is, the more they make mistakes.'

Back with Chrom, the four remaining bandits were acting much more cautiously after seeing just how strong their prey actually was. When he saw that they had not moved to attack him for a while, he decided it was time to go on the offensive. In the blink of an eye he went from standing completely still to right in front of one of the grunts, sword arm outstretched and ready to strike.

The bandit yipped in fright and instinctively ducked, anticipating an overhead sweep from Falchion. Chrom was expecting this move, though. Turning on a dime, he spun on his heel and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to the coyote's abdomen, making him cry out in pain and make his paws instinctively cover his stomach, before striking him with another bashing attack with the pommel of his blade. The three remaining thieves on Chrom's side took this as the signal to push the offensive, each of them giving a war cry before charging him, the ones carrying weapons holding them at the ready.

Chrom quickly parried a swing from the swordsman and flipped out of the way of an incoming warhammer, his cape elegantly flowing in the wind as he soared through the air. He landed perfectly, his claws scraping the pavement. Surprise was evident on his muzzle when he landed. 'Woah… I didn't mean to jump _that _high. Is this body stronger?'

It was at this point that the villagers had crawled from their hiding places or walked back to the center after evacuating, watching in awe as these two strange warriors defeated these thieves that had been tormenting them for some time now with ease.

Back with the fight, Chrom decided to use his more powerful legs to his advantage, leaping up with his sword in the air as he yelled out his own powerful war cry, striking fear into the hearts of his enemies. The coyotes were caught off guard by his sudden change in tactics allowing him to flip midair and carry his momentum into a downward strike, slamming the last unarmed coyote into the pavement, a spiderweb of cracks forming where his head hit.

The slowly building crowd cheered for their newfound champions, amazed by the show of strength.

Now, the only ones left standing were Chrom and Robin, the coyote "elites" (though that term was used loosely), and the leader of the gang, who was looking increasingly nervous. He had just watched these two people come out of nowhere and demolish two-thirds of his forces, and his chances of winning were looking very slim.

The armed coyotes watched the peacock and the wolf warily, now viewing them as formidable opponents. Neither party moved to attack each other for a brief moment until Robin and Chrom glanced back at each other, then with a small nod, they pounced.

The tactician decided to forgo magic right now, flicking her wrist and letting a tempered silver blade fall into her wing, though to anyone watching it appeared as if she simply waved her wing and made a sword appear there. In short, it scared the coyotes even further.

'Let's try some new tactics…' she thought, pulling the silver blade back in preparation as she dashed forward. 'I have this long tail for a reason, so let's put it to good use!'

With a twist of her torso, she used here long train to sweep the coyote wielding the axe off his feet, following it up by striking him upside the chin with the flat of her blade while he was in the midst of falling, sending him flying backwards.

The shock of his friend getting so easily defeated was enough to knock the last remaining thief on Robin's side out of his stupor, and with a cry of defiance and anger, he charged the peacock, his crude halberd poised to strike.

Seeing an opportunity to see what else she could do, Robin quickly unfolded her tail right in front of her assailant. Sure enough, the sudden movement and the rapid color change made him falter, which gave Robin the opportunity to quickly fold her tail back on the ground and strike the brigand over the side of the head, putting an end to her side of the fight. She exhaled a sigh of relief as she stood.

'Intriguing… this new body may be more useful than I thought,' she smiled, eyeing her newest appendage in a new light.

Meanwhile, Chrom was showing his foes just how strong he was, using momentum based combat to completely overpower any defensive maneuvers they made. The swordsman tried to dodge and parry, but Chrom's battle experience and strength advantage gave him an obvious upper hand.

The Exalt fluidly dodged under a clumsy swing from the warhammer, then used the momentum from that dodge to spin on the ground and kick the hammer from the brigand's grip, effectively disarming him.

The coyote glanced wide-eyed at his now empty paw, then back to Chrom. "Eh-heh-heh… uh, s-sorry?" He stammered, putting his palms up in surrender.

Chrom raised his fast. "Too little, too late." He said, before putting the bandit to sleep with a heavy left hook. The crowd groaned from the loud 'crack' the impact made, and even the leader of the gang winced some when the coyote landed in a heap.

He then immediately turned just in time to block a swing from the final swordsman, grunting from the sudden impact. He shoved the blade away, though the coyote quickly recovered, ready to fight. He slashed at Chrom's legs, which he quickly blocked with a wave of his swordhand, then went for a thrust at the heart, trying to use his smaller form to get quick strikes in before Chrom could react.

He easily twisted out of his way, and positioned Falchion so the brigand's shortsword slid right through the teardrop shaped hole. He smirked, knowing that he had his foe exactly where he wanted him.

With a quick flick Chrom spiked the bandit's sword into the ground, and following through into a spin he quickly knocked out his final foe, sending him onto the floor to join the others.

Chrom and Robin stood back to back, both of their swords gleaming in the sunlight as they readied to face the leader. However, when they looked over to where he was standing, they just saw a street filled with civilians, all of them staring in awe at the duo.

The entire battle had lasted less than four minutes.

The small village of Xiao erupted into cheers, the civilians all converging on the two heroes, trying to get as close as they could to the warriors. They were surprised by the sudden commotion, but quickly calmed when they saw who had caused it. "Is everyone okay? Nobody's hurt?" Chrom called to the crowd, letting Falchion slip back into its resting place on his hip.

A chorus of affirmations and gracious thank-yous broke out from the people, most of them bowing in respect to the two. One citizen made his way to the front and bowed deeply to the duo of warriors, who they recognized as the bunny from before. "Th-thank you so much for your help, brave warriors! We are in your debt," he thanked profusely, as did the rest of the village behind him.

"It was no trouble. We were only doing what was right," Robin said, adjusting her sleeve where she had placed the silver sword.

"Sorry that we couldn't capture the leader," Chrom added, looking angry that they let him get away. "Bastard must've snuck off during the battle…"

"Oh, th-that's fine! That bully won't be trying a-anything for a while after _that _display," the bunny said, the crowd voicing its agreement.

Robin smiled and inclined her head slightly. "Well, I'm glad we were able to put an end to your bandit problem."

The bunny nodded rapidly. "O-of course! Is there anything we can do to repay you for your generosity and bravery?"

The two glanced at each other. "Well… I believe there is something," Robin began.

"Yes! A-anything at all," The bunny insisted once more.

* * *

"Thank you again for your kindness," Robin said, glad the village they had come across was so accommodating.

The bunny bowed graciously. "It's the least we could do for you two!"

After explaining their situation and asking if they could have a map of the area, the village of Xiao did all that and more. The bunny provided them with a map of the surrounding "province" as he called it, and although the written language was completely foreign to Robin she was able to see where they were. He then suggested that they travel to a place called the "Valley of Peace", which apparently harbored fierce warriors called the "Furious Five" and the "Dragon Warrior", saying they would be willing to help them find a way back to their country. Of course, she left out some crucial details, like how they were from a different world entirely, but what they didn't know won't hurt them. They even provided a small travel package for them, which included two bedrolls and enough food for the trip, and they also sent a messenger goose ahead to let the grandmaster of the 'Jade Palace' (Robin committed this name to memory, since it sounded very significant) know they were on their way and they wished to speak with him. They had offered some yuan as well, but they declined, saying they had it covered.

"If you ever get into any trouble with that gang again, just give us a call." Chrom said as he slung the satchel over his shoulder.

The bunny then gasped. "That reminds me! We never got your names!" He exclaimed.

Robin chuckled in good-nature. "I am Robin, and my husband over here is Chrom," she introduced, said wolf giving a slight wave.

The bunny's eyes widened, and the crowd behind gave off varying reactions. "Y-you two are m-married?"

Chrom quirked an eyebrow at the village, putting his hands on his hips. "Is that a problem?"

The bunny turned pale in half a second, waving his arms in front of him frantically. "Oh, no no no no no, not at all! Just s-surprising, is all," he quickly corrected, chuckling nervously.

Robin rolled her eyes. "Alright, enough scaring them, let's get moving. We've got a day's travel ahead of us,"

"Of course. I'd like to make it there before noon tomorrow," Chrom agreed, adjusting the strap around his shoulder as he turned and began to walk next to Robin.

The tactician gave one last wave to the town, which they enthusiastically returned, especially the children.

Chrom and Robin's journey through China has begun.

* * *

The Jade Palace was a place renowned for its beauty. It's beautiful architecture was matched by the equally beautiful nature that one would see if they ever took a stroll through the palace grounds, countless gardens tended to by the palace servants amplifying its awe-inspiring aura.

However, while the palace was without a doubt one of China's shining jewels, the way it looks was not what it was known for, not even close. What all of China knew the Jade Palace for were its inhabitants. Ask anyone about what they knew about Kung Fu, and the Jade Palace would almost certainly be the first thing that would come to mind. The palace has harbored some of China's most powerful warriors in its walls, including the great Master Oogway, his student Master Shifu, the infamous Tai Lung… the list went on. Nowadays, the palace was most notable for housing six of the most promising Kung Fu warriors the land had seen since the aforementioned Tai Lung. They were the Furious Five, and more recently the Dragon Warrior.

Normally, if one were to listen closely while standing outside the entrance gates to the palace, you would be able to hear the Dragon Warrior and the Five hard at work, training until the sun sets on their paths to become true masters of Kung Fu.

Not on this particular day, however. Today was a Sunday, which meant that the students under Shifu's tutelage had the day to themselves. While it was crucial they trained both their minds and bodies hard, it was just as important that they give themselves a chance to rest.

The Grandmaster of the Jade Palace was no exception to this rule.

Shifu inhaled deeply as he calmly sat atop his late master's staff, perfectly balanced atop the thin pole which, in turn, was also perfectly balanced in the small lake he practiced inner peace in. His form was completely still, and the only sound around was the continuous dripping of water from the stalagmites above.

He rather enjoyed the moments he got to himself like this. While being the master of the Jade Palace was a title he held in high regard and took very seriously, he would be lying if he said it wasn't the most demanding and stressful position he's ever held, and that stress had only increased since Po had been crowned Dragon Warrior. Now he had to deal with more bandit attacks than ever, and people wishing to duel Po for his title occurred much more often than he liked. Of course, Po somehow always found a way to win, but he wondered when his luck would run out.

It was seldom nowadays that he truly had a moment to calm his always astute mind, and he relished in every second he had to meditate. It helped him more clearly see the solutions to his problems, as Oogway once said.

His thoughts moved to the panda that had ruined his life and become his savior, all with one point of a turtle's finger. If not for Po, he would not have found inner peace, and Tai Lung might have killed the entire valley in his rage for the Dragon Scroll. It was almost funny, really, how a fat panda that knew next to nothing about Kung Fu (the practical part, anyway) would be the one to put his regrets to rest.

It's been a couple months now since that fateful battle between Po and Tai Lung, and the panda has made astonishing progress in his training. It usually takes many years for a student to master some of the techniques he has learned, but Po took to the challenge like a fish in water, being able to hold his own in spars against the five (except for Tigress) after only being in Kung Fu for a small amount of time. He even had mastered his secret Wuxi Finger Hold, and was close to mastering Tai Lung's infamous Nerve Strike.

It was already nearly time for the panda to begin the next step in becoming a true master, and that was finding inner peace. He expected that he would have quite a bit more trouble with this part of his training, since it focused on the mental aspect of Kung Fu, which was rarely talked about by people that didn't know the ins and outs of the fighting style.

Of course, knowing Po's luck, he could master it in a couple of tries.

Shifu shook himself (metaphorically, of course), knowing that it didn't matter how long it took Po, as long as he found inner peace in the end.

For now, however, he was content to peacefully meditate atop his master's staff, the familiar feel of the wood comforting to the red panda.

"Master Shifu! I have a message!" The familiar voice of his messenger assaulted his sensitive ears, effectively shattering any sense of calmness he once had.

Shifu bit back a groan. "Zheng, I understand you are doing your job, but can it wait until I have finished meditating?" He asked, not really in the mood to read a request, or whatever he has been sent this time.

Even without opening his eyes, Shifu could tell Zheng was very nervous. "S-sorry about the interruption, Master Shifu, but it's from Xiao village! They say it's urgent!"

"Xiao village?" The Grandmaster repeated, finally opening his eyes to glance down at his messenger, his ear twitching in interest. "Is this about their bandit problem? I was planning on sending the Five if it got any worse,"

Zheng swallowed, his thin neck visibly bulging for a moment. "Well, th-that's the thing, master, they say the bandits were taken care of!"

Shifu quirked an eyebrow in surprise. "Really?" He said, jumping from Oogway's staff and landing silently onto the grassy floor, holding out his hand to catch the staff as it fell towards him. "I was never told of any masters being sent over there…"

Zheng nodded rapidly. "That's because they said two foreign warriors that were passing through defeated the bandits!"

Now _that_ caught Shifu's attention. "Let me see that," he said, swiftly snatching the paper that was still attached to an arrow, eliciting a honk of surprise from Zheng. His brow was furrowed in concentration as his eyes danced across the parchment, like he was trying to solve a particularly difficult riddle. Zheng didn't dare interrupt the Grandmaster while he read, though he did hear him mutter some words aloud, like "peacock" and "meeting".

It was a couple more minutes of intense staring before Shifu finally looked back up from the paper, his mouth set in a small frown. "Thank you for bringing this to me, Zheng," he said to the bird. "Please tell Tigress that I wish to speak with her."

Zheng bowed respectfully. "Of course, Master Shifu," he said, before turning and flapping his wings a couple times to go airborne, intent on flying back down to the palace.

Shifu gave another glance at the paper in his paws. '...I need to think on this new development.' He thought, his mind troubled with the news. It was not often that foreigners offered their aid to the people of China, much less so those who wanted to meet with him. He inwardly wondered if they were plotting to attack the palace while they had him occupied, but quickly dismissed the thought. They had left no casualties within the bandit's ranks, which meant they were smart enough to avoid killing even when they were greatly outnumbered, and even if they did attempt something he would have his students back him up.

Gently laying Oogway's staff on the ground beside him, Shifu fell into a cross-legged position with a sigh, his hands on his knees. Oh, how he wished Oogway was still here to give him guidance...

* * *

Tigress grunted with exertion as she vaulted herself over a boulder to gain more speed, her orange fur shining yellow in the sun. She impacted the ground with a thud after gaining such a large amount of height, but she tucked into a roll reflexively to absorb the shock, making it look natural. Her claws dug deep into the dirt beneath her as she ran, kicking up chunks of ground with each push of her powerful legs.

Her face conveyed no emotion other than the occasional grunt of effort, but on the inside she was worried.

Sunday was a day for the inhabitants of the Palace to clear their minds and rest from the usually vigorous training, and that included Shifu. Normally, the red panda would meditate in his personal quarters or the small cave she was currently headed to, but ever since Po arrived he had begun to interact with his students more outside of training. He was still, however, a person who very much preferred spending his time alone.

Which is why it worried her when Zheng had said Master Shifu requested her presence. Tigress remembered the last time they had been called to attention on their leisure day, and that was because the Valley was under attack. Her mind was racing as she thought of every possibility. 'Was someone plotting an attack on the Valley? On the Palace?' There were so many things that could be going wrong at any moment.

It wasn't long before she reached the cave Shifu currently resided in. His back was facing her, though she could easily tell he was in deep thought. "Master," she greeted, putting her fist into her palm and bowing in respect, as was customary. "You summoned me?"

Shifu gave no confirmation to his other than a curt nod. "I trust you know of Xiao village?" He asked as he slowly stood, picking up the staff next to him.

Tigress nodded. "Yes. They're a neighbouring village about a day's worth of travel from here. Is this about the bandits that have been attacking them?"

"Yes, but not in the way you think." He responded.

Tigress quirked an eyebrow at that, clearly confused. "What do you mean, master?"

Shifu paused for a moment before continuing. "I was planning on having you, Po and the rest of the Five fo drive the thieves out," he said.

"Of course," Tigress interrupted. "I'll make sure the others know of our mission."

He held up a hand to silence her, before reaching into his robe and retrieving a folded piece of parchment. "That will no longer be necessary," he said, handing her the mysterious paper.

Tigress gingerly took the paper from the old master, unfolding its contents so she could see what he was talking about. Unfortunately for her, the words didn't shed any light on the situation. They only made her more worried and confused, her glowing yellow eyes soaking in the information under a furrowed brow. "Unknown fighters defeated the bandits, and they wish to speak with you?" She asked, incredulous.

Shifu merely nodded once more.

Tigress glanced down to the paper, then back to her master. "This is ridiculous. Surely, you don't intend to actually meet with them?" She said, sounding exasperated.

Shifu said nothing for a moment. "... They will most likely arrive tomorrow, so the next day I want you to patrol the village. If you spot two people that would fit this description, peacefully escort them to me."

"Master, this is _insane_," Tigress retorted. "This could easily be a ploy to get into the palace and attack us!"

"I agree," Shifu said, not rising to her ire since he did not want to start a pointless shouting match. "Which is why I am having you and Po escort them personally, so they don't try anything."

Tigress blinked. "What? Why me and Po?" She asked. While she had come to view the panda as a good friend, he wasn't the best when it comes to stealth, and his attention span was horribly short with anything that wasn't food or 'cool'. This seemed to be a crucial mission as well, and this would be his first time doing anything for the Palace other than train since the Tai Lung incident.

The smirk on Shifu's face when he turned to face her could almost be called mischievous. "I've noticed you work well together during training, and he is quite good at putting people at ease around him. Mostly, it's so _you _don't try anything you might regret, and it would be a good first mission for him."

Tigress blanched and went to retort, but it quickly died in her throat. "Yes, master," she sighed, knowing he was right. She most likely would attack these two strangers if they so much as breathed in the wrong way.

Shifu firmly nodded, glad he had a plan set. "Thank you, Tigress. The day is yours."

She bowed one last time to her master before reluctantly turning and leaping off of the steep cliffside.

* * *

Mornings in the Valley of Peace were normally the calmest part of the day. As the blanket of night slowly faded way to the new sun, the civilians of the valley began to wake, letting their eyes filter the inviting light. There was no stamping feet as bustling people got their midday shopping done, no rowdy conversations from lively night parties in taverns, just the content silence of a groggy town slowly making way to a new day, the tantalizing smell of all sorts of different food wafting down the streets as shops prepared to open for the day.

Tigress liked to consider herself a morning person. Every day she made sure to wake up early so she could get loosened up for the long day of training, and she was almost always the first one to respond to the morning gong. She much preferred the quietness of mornings compared to the usual business and rowdiness of her days, and the air just seemed more crisp and refreshing in the early hours.

No matter how much she liked mornings or how much energy she had when she woke up, though, she couldn't hold a candle to a certain panda's raw enthusiasm for anything that so much as mentioned the words 'kung' and 'fu' in the same sentence.

"I can't believe Master Shifu thinks I'm ready to go on missions with you guys!" said Po, positively bouncing with excitement. "Now I can show off all the awesome butt-kicking stuff I've worked on!"

Tigress watched with a bemused expression as he gave a 'demonstration' of his skills, punching and chopping the air around them with exaggerated shouts and cries, finishing with a high kick in the air.

Which, unfortunately, snapped the stone sword that one of the many statues around the palace was holding completely in two, leaving nothing but a nub where the decorative weapon once was. Po immediately froze, giving a wide eyed glance between the statue and the stone blade that was now embedded into the dirt.

Tigress resisted the urge to facepalm as he looked around himself with a guilty look on his face, then turned and continued walking beside his teammate with his hands behind his back, whistling innocently.

'Sometimes I can't believe he is the same panda who bested Tai Lung…' she thought, shaking her head softly and continuing on her walk to the entrance gates to the Palace.

"While I agree that your training has paid off, we will not be fighting on this mission." Tigress informed, pointedly ignoring what just occurred.

"What!?" Po groaned, disappointment evident in his tone. "I skipped breakfast so I could run an _errand _for Master Shifu?"

Tigress's brow immediately furrowed at his words. "I would not talk about our teacher like that if I were you," she berated sharply, making Po shrink back a little instinctively. "Besides, we are not going to just go shopping."

Po cleared his throat awkwardly, recovering from her sharp glare. "What's so important that doesn't involve beatin' up bad guys?"

"Two warriors are planning to meet with Shifu today," she said, her undertone making it clear that she doesn't agree with her master's decision. "And we are going to escort them to make sure nothing happens."

"Wooooah," Po breathed, his eyes almost immediately regaining their excited shine. "Master Shifu's meeting with some Masters today!? Who is it, who is it? Master Eagle? Ferocious Master Croc?" He sucked in a shaky gasp of air, his mind running wild with possibilities. "_Master Thundering Rhino?!_"

"No, they're not any of the masters you know," Tigress responded easily, used to Po's eccentricity by now. "They're foreigners that helped drive out the bandits in Xiao village, and they made a request to meet with Shifu that came in yesterday."

Po's mouth did its best imitation of the letter 'o', somehow even more awed than before. "Oh, ho ho, that's so _cool! _Imagine what kind of new weapons they have, and what kind of awesome moves they have! I bet they have all kinds of stuff we've never _seen!_" He rambled, obviously much more excited about the seemingly boring mission now.

Tigress grit her teeth. "I'm sure they do, which is exactly why we are going to escort them. You and I will make sure they don't try anything."

Po chuckled. "How do you know we can? What if they have, like, magic or something? They could just zap us with lightning paws or, or breathe fire on us before we could even touch them,"

"I'll find a way." She said coldly, not really wanting to hear Po gush over two complete strangers.

"Maybe they have, like, a super cool new fighting style that we've never seen before, or like laser eye- WAGH!" Po suddenly exclaimed as he tipped down the thousand steps. Tigress's eyes widened upon seeing him begin to fall, but she was too late to do anything as he began to bounce his way down the stone staircase, yelling out in pain every time he impacted the ground.

This time, Tigress really _did_ facepalm. His… 'padding' would keep him from any serious injuries, but he would be very sore by the time he got down. "He's going to get himself killed by not paying attention…" She muttered, before dropping down on all fours and bounding off towards the bouncing dot in the distance.

* * *

"I think this might be the place…"

"It sure looks like a 'Valley of Peace'," Chrom said as he looked down at the town from their vantage point atop one of the mountainous peaks surrounding the valley, a small smile on his muzzle. "I wouldn't mind living here, it looks nice."

Robin gave him a deadpan look. "Don't get too comfortable. We're trying to find a way home, not a home to settle down in,"

Chrom chuckled. "You do have to admit, it looks very pretty."

Looking up from the map in her wing, Robin knew she couldn't deny that. As Chrom said, it most definitely fit the description of a Valley of Peace. The light shone perfectly onto the town, giving the whole valley an inviting orange glow, and the luscious greens surrounding the outskirts added a nice contrasting color. She could see a river flowing through the middle of the town, a bridge stretching over the middle. What caught her eye the most, however, was the enormous staircase near the edge of the town, which lead up to what looked like a very interesting piece of architecture. 'That must be the Jade Palace the bunny mentioned…' She recognized, noting the pearly green roof tops and how large it was compared to the rest of the townhouses.

"I must admit, it is very beautiful, although I believe Ylisstol has it beat." She said, rolling up the map and putting it back in the satchel, having offered to carry it after Chrom had lugged it along the first half of the way.

Chrom nodded in agreement. "Of course. Now let's get going, I haven't had a decent meal since we arrived here,"

"Remember, no meat!" Robin teased, remembering how disheartened he had been when he opened the satchel last night to reveal only a mix of vegetables, new and familiar.

The Exalt scowled, already missing that aspect of life. "Don't remind me…"

* * *

**Fire Emblem; The Way Home**

**Cheers to anyone that gets that.**

**Thanks to everyone that has read thus far. I appreciate any feedback (besides flames), so please drop a review. Not much more to say about this chapter, honestly, just be patient for chapter 3, since it'll be a minute before it's done.**

**Peace out gamers.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome back to another chapter of Inner Peace: an Exalted Tale. This chapter was quite enjoyable for me to write, and the Kung Fu Panda characters start to become more prominent here. Thanks to everyone that left a review last time, and already we have 300 hits. Not bad, eh?**

**Thanos Cradik: Well, a peacock is still a bird, right? And besides, sometimes you gotta expect the unexpected.**

**vcj: I'm glad you think this is well written thus far. Quality is very important to me when it comes to my writing, so it's extremely relieving to hear that. I hope to continue that trend in the future.**

**Guest: Look no more, friend, because the next chapter is here. Unfortunately, we won't be showing off any more of Robin's magic in this chapter, but expect to see some of that next time. As for the marriage thing, I'll be showing some of that off today, just not to the extent I want to get into later. Thanks again!**

**That's all I got. Here we go with the next chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 3

Omen

* * *

As the sun began to near its center point in the sky, the streets of the valley began to grow more and more lively, as citizens greeted the new day along with their neighbours. The merchants were in full swing as the midday rush began. Yuan was being exchanged left and right, as were the plentiful amount of goods. Children ran wild in the paved streets, all of them with some sort of toy in hand or game in mind.

Chrom smiled warmly as a small bunny and pig ran by, both of them laughing with pure glee. They were both very enthralled in whatever game they had imagined with the dolls in their hands, so they didn't even notice the two strange newcomers as they passed.

'I can see why it's called the Valley of _Peace_,' he thought, loving the warm and inviting atmosphere this place seemed to radiate. It reminded him of the walks he would take through the streets of Ylisstol when he needed some fresh air. The yellow glow of the sun wrapped every building in its embrace, and the air smelled of all sorts of scents that he had never encountered before.

Robin, on the other hand, was feeling less than welcome to the Valley. While her husband was enjoying the sights of the admittedly beautiful town, she had noticed something odd. One, the people were the same species of animals as Xiao village. Bunnies, geese, pigs, and a couple sheep as well. She inwardly wondered about what kind of diversity this place had, because the only other species she had seen that was different were her and Chrom, and the bandits.

The second thing was that everyone around them acted like she was doing something wrong by simply _existing._

While they were walking through the streets of the town, whenever a civilian noticed their presence and their eyes landed on her specifically, their entire demeanor would change. Sometimes their eyes would widen a tad in fear, other times their brows would furrow and they would mutter darkly, but the most common reaction she would get were the _glares._ She didn't even know who these people were, but they would shoot daggers at her like their families had been feuding for centuries. It was… unsettling, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why they were doing this.

"Chrom…" She whispered, trying to ignore the fifteenth glare sent her way.

"Yes?" He said, his gaze drifting from a small cart on the side of the road selling some sort of unknown produce.

"What's the matter with these people? They're looking at me like I don't belong here," said Robin, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. She wasn't used to people treating her like an outcast.

"Hm?" Chrom glanced around them at the people, his brow furrowed. "They don't seem upset to me…"

"They keep glaring at me!" She retorted, trying to keep her voice down. Another pig walked by, looking at Robin with a furrowed brow as he passed. "I don't know what I've even done _wrong,_"

Chrom frowned at his wife's demeanor. He didn't know what she was talking about, but she was quite obviously in distress. "Maybe you're just overthinking it. What if they weren't looking at you?"

"Chrom, I could _see _their eyes! What if I offended them, what if I-"

"Robin." He interrupted, suddenly stopping her in her tracks and kneeling down in front of her. He hated when she got like this, all worried over every little thing. While it was her job to be worried as their tactician, he wanted her to take breaks every now and then. "I promise you, that as long as I am by your side, no harm will befall you. You have nothing to worry about."

Robin stared into her husband's warm, caring eyes, her own worried ones shimmering with hidden emotion, before she sighed, her shoulders loosening almost immediately. "Of course… you're right. I-I apologize,"

Chrom chuckled warmly. "No need to apologize, my love. Now, why don't we get some food? It might take your mind off of this whole thing," he suggested.

Robin returned the laugh, but the joy didn't quite reach her eyes. "I think that would be a lovely idea… if we could read the signs and find a good eatery," she said, gesturing towards the signs around them that had a completely foreign dialect written on them.

"That… does look like a problem," said Chrom, standing back up and putting a paw on his hip. He glanced around, trying to find a solution for their current predicament. Thankfully, another civilian was passing by at the moment, and they haven't seemed to notice them yet.

"Excuse me, miss!" Chrom called, going with the effeminate eyes and similar slender neck that Robin had to guess her gender. He made sure to smile without teeth at the goose, and did his best to hide Falchion from view so he would appear as non-threatening as possible. He didn't want a repeat of the bunny, and get the whole town's attention when they truly meant no harm.

"Wait, Chrom! Don't-" Robin protested silently, but groaned, realizing he wasn't going to listen. Her nerves were back with a vengeance, and she slinked behind her husband, trying her hardest to shield herself from view.

The goose blinked in surprise, not expecting to be suddenly called out from the street. She twisted her thin neck to look over to her right, and her eyes widened a tad, but she did not cower in fear like the bunny did. Thankfully, Chrom did a good job of hiding anything that appeared dangerous, which let the goose relax a bit when she saw he most likely had no intent of harming her. "Uh, yes?" She replied.

Chrom smiled like he would when talking to one of his subjects, a warm comforting expression that puts people at ease. "Hi, my wife and I were wondering if there was a place nearby where we could get some food," he asked, gesturing over to Robin, whos head was barely peeking out from behind his cape. She smiled nervously when the goose locked eyes with her.

Fortunately for her, the goose didn't react other than her eyes widening a fraction. "O-oh. Well, Dragon Warrior Noodles i-is just around the corner," she said to Chrom while gesturing with a wing sleeved in a cloth robe over to one of the side streets, though Robin didn't miss the side-eye glances the goose shot her way during her instruction.

"Thank you, miss. I appreciate the help," Chrom graciously thanked. He turned to Robin and pulled her along with a strong but gentle tug, knowing that she was still uncomfortable. "C'mon. Let's finally get a decent meal,"

The tactician followed him with quick steps, wanting to get out of the way of all these prying, hateful eyes.

Had they stayed just a moment longer, they would've noticed a tiger fly over the rooftops, her paws scraping the slate.

* * *

Mr. Ping sighed as he guided the cleaning cloth in his wing through the inside of the porcelain bowl, letting the linen wash away the residue from the broth that once inhabited the bowl. The warm water washed over his feathers, a couple stray droplets finding their way onto his robe. The old goose continued this way for a minute or so before he was finally satisfied with the cleanliness of the bowl, removing it from underneath the flow of water and wiping it down with a dry rag. He adjusted his hat with a practiced motion before setting the bowl aside and starting on the next, wanting to get ready for the inevitable dinner rush.

"Slow day today…" He muttered, glancing over to the dining area. The normally packed wooden seats, positioned in the perfect way possible so the advertisements and the Dragon Warrior displays were in clear view were empty. Mondays were usually one of the slower days of the week for him, but never like _this_.

"Ah, well…" said Mr. Ping, setting aside another bowl and beginning anew. "I'm sure things'll speed up a bit during dinner. I should start preparing a fresh pot soon,"

Ever since his son had defeated Tai Lung and earned the respect of the entire town, life has been looking up for the two of them. He initially was quite concerned for Po, what with how dangerous this kung fu nonsense could be sometimes, but now he couldn't be more supportive of his son's dream and passion.

Of course, being that he was a father first, and a businessman _second_, he took the opportunity to relentlessly advertise his shop as "Dragon Warrior Noodles", making sure to draw in the newfound kung fu rage right into his shop. Oh yes, the yuan was flowing _plentifully _nowadays.

It seemed that today wouldn't be one of those hyper-profit days. He didn't mind, however. He quite enjoyed the change of pace, actually, since these last few weeks have been non stop orders for the whole valley. Right now, he was content with calmly washing the dishes, humming softly to himself while he made sure that everything was sparkling clean.

"Excuse me?"

Mr. Ping yelled out in surprise, his stool rocking dangerously back and forth and the bowl flying up from his hands. Showing an unusual amount of dexterity, he quickly snatched the bowl out of the air, his breathing heavy. He really did not want to sweep bits and pieces of porcelain off of the floor today.

"Oh! My apologies, sir, I had no intention of scaring you," The voice that had startled him quickly apologized. Mr. Ping inwardly noted that he had never heard an accent like this stranger's before.

The goose sighed as he carefully set the bowl down, dusting off his robe while he hopped down from the wooden stool. "No, no, that's fine! I wasn't paying attention," he assured, not even batting an eye when he saw the stranger's species. It's not like he hasn't seen a wolf before, and he tried his hardest to not show any discrimination towards customers.

The wolf's companion that walked up to the counter from behind _did _surprise him, though. He couldn't remember if he had ever served a peacock before, since most of them were from a line of royalty up in Gongmen, but he had never heard of one that was colored so differently. From what he knew, peacocks were very colorful birds, much more so than a goose like him, but this peacock was of such a pure shade of white that one could almost liken it to the petals of a daisy.

He knew the people of the Valley would see her coloring as a bad thing, but again, he wasn't one to discriminate.

"What can I get started for you two today, then? Maybe some of my famous secret ingredient noodle soup? Or perhaps some of my new tofu dessert?" Mr. Ping offered to his newest customers, pulling out a plate of the aforementioned tofu. "I make it fresh in house!" He added.

Chrom eyed the strange looking food dubiously, while Robin almost immediately smiled. This was the first person to treat her with any sense of kindness.

"Um… I think I'll pass on the… 'tofu'?" said Chrom, the word foreign to him. "You said something about 'noodle soup'?" He asked, faintly remembering the word from when he was a child. He recalled the ambassador from this place called 'Chon'Sin' bringing over some delicacies from his homeland, and if he remembered correctly, these 'noodles' were one of them.

Mr. Ping nodded enthusiastically, his hat bobbing along with his head. "Oh, yes! I serve the finest noodles in the whole valley!"

Chrom smiled at the restaurant owner's enthusiasm. "Well, I can't exactly say no to that, can I? I'll take a bowl, then,"

"Of course! And what can I get for you, ma'am?" He asked, turning over to the peacock.

Robin paused. "Uh… what exactly are _noodles_?" She asked, unknowing of the bomb she had just laid down.

Mr. Ping stared at her for a moment, before bursting out into laughter. "Oh, ha ha ha, that was a good one! 'What are noodles', ha ha! Ha…" his laughter died down when he saw she wasn't amused at all, instead staring at him with a confused expression. "W-wait, you're _serious_? You've never had _noodles _before?!"

Robin cringed. "U-uh, no?"

"Well, that won't do at all! I'll get you a bowl as soon as it's done! You're going to love my famous secret ingredient noodle soup," Mr. Ping said, now focused on making sure that her first ever bowl of noodles was perfect. "Go take a seat and I'll bring it out to you!"

"Wait, shouldn't we pay you first?" Chrom asked, already in the midst of reaching for his gold pouch. He inwardly was hoping that this place would accept their currency, seeing as this 'yuan' stuff was a little different from their gold.

"Just for you two, this one's on the house. I wouldn't make you pay for someone's first ever bowl of noodles, that's just _sacrilege!_" Mr. Ping said, obviously very passionate about his business.

Chrom sighed in relief. "Thank you for your hospitality, mister…?"

"Just call me Mr. Ping," the goose said, turning back to his boiling pot and throwing a mixture of spices into the cloudy water, already filling the area with a delicious scent.

The two weary travelers sighed as they slumped down in two wooden chairs, the tiredness from walking for a day straight beginning to catch up to them. "Finally! We'll get a decent meal," Chrom said, his mouth already watering at the thought of real, substantial food. While he was used to living off the land and wasn't a picky eater, the raw vegetable Xiao village had packed for them weren't exactly his forte.

"It's been awhile since we went out together, hasn't it? Just the two of us," Robin said, smiling lovingly as she swept her long tail behind her. Mr. Ping's kindness towards her was thankfully enough to avert her worry, allowing her to enjoy this quiet moment between her and her husband.

"It really has." Chrom said, leaning onto the table as he gazed into his lover's eyes. "You feel any better?"

She nodded. "Yeah… I'm glad someone is able to tolerate my presence, even if I have no idea what I did to deserve such treatment earlier." She said, pointing a wing over towards Mr. Ping, who was busy spooning some vegetables into the pot, steam rising from the surface.

Chrom scoffed. "I wouldn't even worry about them. Let's enjoy this moment together, just you and me,"

Robin smiled warmly, her eyes twinkling with gratefulness. "...You always know just what to say."

"I've been told I'm good with people."

The tactician giggled, making Chrom smile even wider. "You somehow managed to get me to fall in love with you after you walked in on me in the bathing tent, so I guess that's true," she teased.

Chrom immediately grew very flustered, memories that he had long since tried to forget resurfacing. "Let's… not bring that up, please."

"Aw, c'mon, we can have a good laugh about it now!" Robin said, trying to hide the growing smirk on her beak.

"I don't really think I can laugh about _that_. I still can't even go near the bathhouse without getting embarrassed…" He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Robin was just about to continue her friendly teasing when she was interrupted by Mr. Ping, who was carrying two piping hot bowls filled nearly to the brim with a golden liquid. "Here is your soup! I made sure to make it fresh for you two," he ensured, carefully setting the bowls down so they wouldn't lose a single drop of the amber substance. The peacock stared down into her bowl, intrigued by the article of food presented to her. She had never seen anything quite like it. It appeared to be a clump of some sort of yellowish strings submerged in this stew, bits of vegetables floating about the bowl. She may not have understood exactly what she was looking at, but what she did understand was that it smelled _heavenly_.

Chrom seemed to agree, judging by the big whiff he took as soon as the bowl was set down. "Wow, that smells delicious, Mr. Ping. Thank you for this," he said gratefully as he picked up the spoon that he was provided.

"Oh, it was no problem! I'm glad you two came to me for her first taste of noodles," said Mr. Ping.

Robin smiled graciously. "I'm grateful for your hospitality. You've pretty much been the first person to treat me with any sense of kindness since we first got here," she said, resisting a scowl when her mind drifted back to the looks she received.

Mr. Ping frowned. "I wish it wasn't so, but you know what they say around here."

Chrom stopped the spoon just before it reached his lips, and gave a glance towards Robin. "Uh, no, we don't. We're not exactly… from around here. From an entirely different country, actually," he explained to the goose.

"Ah, that would explain why you've never had noodles before," Mr. Ping nodded in understanding. "Well, in China, there is a saying. 'Bad color, bad omen', is what we usually believe, and it just so happens that here, the color white means…" he glanced over to Robin's pure white plumage. "Death."

"Bad color, bad omen?" Chrom repeated, troubled by the news. "So… what does that mean?"

Mr. Ping looked uncomfortable with the subject, but he continued. "The color white is a very unusual color, rarely seen on anyone here. Unfortunately, the ones who are the color white are looked at as an omen of death. That Shen fellow from a while back in Gongmen didn't help matters for them, either…"

The Exalt's brow furrowed in anger. "That's ridiculous! Just because someone looks different, doesn't mean they should outcasted from others,"

"That's just the way things are, unfortunately," Mr. Ping said sadly, though he quickly perked up when he realized how oppressive the atmosphere around them was. It wouldn't do to have a depressing restaurant. Robin especially looked downtrodden by the news, staring at her white-feathered wings with sadness in her amber orbs. "Now, _I _don't believe in that sort of thing! For me, if you can pay for noodles, you're a friend in my eyes." He assured the peacock, inwardly kicking himself for making one of his customers upset. His motto _was_ 'service with a smile', after all, and she was doing anything but.

"He's right, Robin. You're no omen of death to me," Chrom said, setting down his spoon and wrapping a paw around one of her wings, drawing her melancholy eyes to his own. "The color white doesn't represent death, or despair, or anything like that. To me… it represents the woman I love. And that will never change, remember? You're the wind at my back…"

Robin couldn't help but chuckle at that. "And the sword at my side…" she finished. She smiled nostalgically as she thought back to the day those words were spoken. She would never forget it as long as she lived. "Thank you, Chrom. Sometimes I wonder… how lucky I was you found me in that field."

Mr. Ping watched their loving interaction with a smile. It was a species combination that one wouldn't see everyday, that's for sure, but it was clear as day that they loved each other very much. "If you two need anything else, I'll be in the kitchen." He said, bowing to the couple.

Chrom thanked him again as he waddled off, before he turned back to his wife. They were content to just stare into each other's eyes for a moment, letting the sound of Mr. Ping working away in the kitchen fill the void of silence.

Then they remembered what they came here for in the first place.

Chrom cleared his throat, breaking the both of them from their unintentional staring contest. "We should probably eat before it gets cold…"

Robin blinked, before her cheeks flushed. "R-right…" she said.

While Chrom attacked his bowl with a hunger induced vigor, she slowly took hold of her spoon, careful not to drop it. She was still unused to having wings for hands, but it was getting easier.

With a single smooth motion, she dipped the spoon below the surface of the broth, and brought the utensil laden with noodles and vegetables up to her beak.

As promised by Mr. Ping, the noodles were absolutely divine.

* * *

Tigress grunted in frustration as she landed in front of the Thousand Steps for what seemed like the twentieth time that day, small cracks starting to form from her rock-hard legs repeatedly crashing into the ground.

"Master Shifu said they would be here by now…" she muttered, confused and frustrated with how her day has been going. While she was no Crane, she liked to think her eyes were keen, especially during the night. She had been told that her eyes give off a threatening orange glow under the cover of darkness, which was because she could see almost perfectly in the dark. It gave her quite the advantage in most situations, like in battles, for instance.

Apparently, it wasn't much help with trying to find two unknown warriors, which according to their descriptions, should be standing out like a sore thumb.

Her and Po had been searching the valley for the past three hours almost, and so far they had found absolutely nothing. Even asking the villagers was no good, since they were either too excited from seeing them to be of any use, or they didn't know anything.

"Ha… ha… h-hey Tigress…" her Partner's voice called to her from behind, sounding nothing short of exhausted.

Tigress rolled her eyes. Speaking of Po, he has not been as 'effective' as he should've been, which was putting it lightly. While she jumped from rooftops and bounded off of trees to get around the village easier, Po was forced to wander through the streets at a much, _much _slower pace due to his stature. This, of course, didn't really help as much as it did make the panda tired, and he constantly had to take small breaks throughout the mission. Tigress would have to consult Shifu about giving Po's training more focus on endurance, because if he were to go on actual missions with the Five he would have to be able to walk long distances.

"Find anything yet?" Tigress asked, though she was fairly certain she already knew the answer.

Sure enough, Po grinned sheepishly, tapping his claws together. "Um, well, that depends on what that 'thing' is, cause y'know, I've found a lot of stuff, and-"

"So you haven't found anything." She interrupted.

"Pffft, what? You're doubting the Dragon Warrior? Of course I…" He trailed off when Tigress shot him a glare. "...haven't found anything,"

Tigress sighed, wanting to get mad at Po for not making any progress, but she hadn't found anything either. "Their descriptions said they would be easy to spot, and Shifu said they would be here by now… what is going on?" She muttered to herself, trying to make sense of how she was missing what was supposed to be a 'burly wolf' and an 'oddly colored peacock'. You'd think they would be easy heads to pick out from the crowd, given that the general populace was mostly pigs, bunnies, geese and sheep.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh! What if they have some, like, super cool ability that makes them invisible?" Po suggested, suddenly forgetting about his previous tiredness.

Tigress bit back a growl. Even though they were friends now, his incessant rambling still got on her nerves from time to time. "Don't be ridiculous, Po. That's not possible."

"Well, it could be. You didn't think it was possible for me to become the Dragon Warrior," the panda pointed out.

"That's… true," she admitted while holding in a grimace, reminded of how she treated him during the early days of his stay in the palace. "But it's still highly unlikely. We should keep searching the valley. They're bound to turn up at some point."

Po groaned, throwing his chin up in the air. "Can we pleeease take a break? We've been searching all _day_, and I'm so hungry I might drop dead if I walk around town again!" He pleaded, shaking his large belly for emphasis.

"_No. _We'll never make any progress if we stop to eat now, so let's get going." She said firmly, not budging from her 'always vigilant' perspective.

That is, until her own stomach decided to intervene, growling with the ferocity of a lion.

Tigress glanced down at her abdomen, surprised by the sudden noise. "What the…?" She muttered, not realizing just how hungry she was until Po mentioned his own cravings. She had trained herself to live off of small cubes of tofu and nothing else, so it was a tad surprising that she would all of a sudden be starving. Perhaps her partner's work in the kitchen has had a greater impact on her life than she thought.

Ah, well. She trained too often for it to be detrimental, and Shifu always did say she needed to eat more.

Said panda stared at her in shock, before bursting out laughing. "Woah-ho-ho, Master Tigress! I didn't even know you _could _be hungry!"

"Of course I can be hungry," she snapped, "Food is necessary to keep anyone's strength up."

She glanced down at Po's… 'stature', a ghost of a smirk on her muzzle. "Some more than others…"

Po either didn't notice the subtle jab at his weight, or he didn't care. "Well, my dad's shop is right there, so now we can refuel for the awesome kung fu missions ahead!" He said enthusiastically, before dashing over to the noodle shop in a way that seemed impossible for his size, eager to see his father.

Tigress watched him go for a moment, her lips quirked upwards ever so slightly. "Shifu was right to use food as a means to train him…" she said, shaking her head softly as she walked into the store after him.

It has been quite some time since she has been to Mr. Ping's noodle shop. The last time was when she was a young teenager, running down into the village to get some food for the palace. It was a faint memory, but she remembered the food being delicious.

'Looks like Mr. Ping is taking advantage of his son's status as Dragon Warrior…' she mused, noting all of the signs of dragons and Po doing something heroic. He had even changed the name of his store to 'Dragon Warrior Noodles & Tofu'.

The inside of the store was almost exactly how she remembered it being, with a few changes here and there. There was a mop on display on the wall, with pictures of Po hung up around it.

That wasn't what she first noticed, however. What had almost immediately caught her attention were the two sole patrons of the store, sitting up near the counter. A burly looking wolf with royal blue fur was sitting across from a pure white peacock, both of them calmly enjoying a bowl of Mr. Ping's noodles.

'...Did we seriously find them in Mr. Ping's shop after looking for around town _hours_?' She thought to herself incredulously, not believing that Po had inadvertently completed their mission without even knowing it, but their appearance perfectly matched the description of the two strange warriors. A blue furred wolf with a sword strapped to his side, and a white peacock with purple accents on her train. The strange cloak the peacock was wearing and the armor the wolf was garbed in were foreign-looking as well, further cementing the fact that these were the two they were looking for.

Of course, Po had no idea, more concerned with greeting his father and getting a bowl of noodles.

Tigress walked up to the unknown duo, unconcerned with what her partner was doing at the moment. "Excuse me," she greeted, walking up to the table they were sitting at. The two strangers abruptly stopped in their meal, both of them eyeing her warily. The peacock seemed especially cautious, her eyes almost scanning her.

"Yes?" The wolf said, leaning an elbow on the wooden table. His gaze wasn't scrutinizing, but it was one that told her he was ready to act if he needed to.

"You are the two warriors from Xiao village, correct?" Tigress asked, although it was more of a statement than anything else.

The two glanced at each other in surprise, and they looked much more cautious than a moment ago. Tigress noticed the wolf subtly move his paw to the pommel of his sword, and the peacock's wings folded up into her sleeve. His eyes were most definitely scrutinizing her now, looking her form up and down. "How did you…?"

"My master received word of your arrival," she answered quickly, not wanting to have a confrontation. As confident as she was in her abilities, Po was right in thinking that they may have weapons of unknown power. She would have to tread carefully. "I will escort you to the Palace so you may speak with him."

The two almost immediately relaxed when she said that, slowly removing their hold on their weapons and their muscles loosening. "Ah, I see. So you must be one of the… Furious Five, was it?" The wolf asked.

Tigress nodded in confirmation. "Yes. I am Master Tigress, the oldest member of the Five. That panda over there," she pointed over to Po, who was currently downing a bowl of noodles, conversing with his father. "Is Po, the most recent student of Master Shifu's, and the Dragon Warrior. We will be taking you to Shifu."

The two nodded as they digested this information. "Thank you, Master Tigress. I am Chrom, and this is my wife Robin," The wolf greeted, thinking it was only right they gave their names since she gave hers. The peacock waved slightly, now looking less nervous, though only slightly.

Tigress raised an eyebrow at the word 'wife'. 'That's… unexpected.' She thought to herself, though she didn't voice any complaints. Interspecies marriage wasn't exactly frowned upon, but it was rather uncommon in these parts of China.

"Would you like us to go with you now, then?" Robin asked, saying something for the first time since Tigress greeted them.

Tigress nodded firmly, glad she didn't have to drag them along. "You will follow behind me, and make sure to stay in front of Po." She ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Chrom raised an eyebrow. "I appreciate your concern, Master Tigress, but we're perfectly capable of walking to a Palace ourselves. I don't want to inconvenience you."

Tigress's brow furrowed, her suspicion of these two new characters leaking through her somewhat-friendly persona. "Which is why I was tasked with escorting you." She said, then added in a lower voice, "_Don't _try anything."

Satisfied that she had made her intent clear, Tigress stalked off to go grab Po, who was downing what must've been his third bowl of noodles. "Po. Let's go, I've found our two warriors."

"Wha, really?" He said with a mouthful of noodles, strands of the stuff hanging from his lips.

Tigress frowned at his less than ideal table manners, inwardly noting that his fur was absolutely drenched in broth. "Yes, really. That's enough noodles, Po, we need to get back to Shifu."

"Aw, c'mon, I'm still hungry though! Can I just get one more boWAGH!" He whined, but was quickly shut up when Tigress roughly grabbed him by the forearm and pulled him from his seat, letting the bowl he was holding clatter noisily to the floor. The panda protested as she dragged him across the floor, trying in vain to release her hold on him.

Chrom and Robin shared a confused glance after watching the short exchange. "What in Naga's name is going on? I know their name is the Furious Five, but I didn't expect their leader to _actually_ be furious!" Chrom whispered, still reeling from Tigress's blatant suspicion towards them.

"I'm not too sure…" Robin responded, a wing under her beak as she thought. "Perhaps she's this world's version of Frederick?" She jokingly suggested, remembering the scrutinizing the astute retainer had subjected her to.

Chrom stifled a chuckle. "She's got the 'suspicious of everything' act down pat, that's for sure…"

"Hey!" Tigress called after the two, Po still struggling in her grasp. They broke from their short conversation, looking over to the tiger who seemed very annoyed with the whole situation. "Let's go. Master Shifu is waiting."

"I hope visiting this 'Shifu' person is worth it…" Chrom muttered as he picked himself up from the chair, dropping his ornate spoon in the bowl.

Robin nodded in agreement. "If he doesn't know anything, then we'll figure something out. You know that changes of plans rarely keep me down."

Chrom smiled at his wife. "That I do."

The two weary travelers walked over to Tigress, ready to embark for the Jade Palace. "Alright, so where is the Jade Palace exactly? I can't recall seeing anything like it walking into town…"

Tigress was about to point to a rather large staircase behind them, but Robin beat her to it, pointing up to the sky where the stairs led to with one of her wings. "I think I saw it up there. It definitely looked like a palace…"

Chrom took one look at the enormous stone staircase, then back where Robin was pointing. "That's… quite the climb."

"I know, right!?" Po suddenly interjected, finally free from Tigress's hold. He was rubbing the spot she had grabbed him tenderly, so he was evidently not free from the pain. "It's called the Thousand Steps!"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Thousand Steps? Is it truly one thousand stairs to the top?" She asked, curious as to how somebody would even build a thousand steps up a mountain.

Po nodded eagerly, always excited to share random tidbits of kung fu trivia. "Yeah! I counted each one on my way up one time, and it's almost exactly a thousand!"

"Counted each one? That must've taken quite some time…" Robin noted, inwardly impressed at how much patience he must have had to do that.

"As much as I enjoy talking about a set of stairs, we have places to be. Let's. Go." Tigress interrupted, growing tired of their small talk.

Po, who looked like he was about to respond, quickly did as she said, grinning sheepishly. "Oh, right," He chuckled, tapping the tips of his claws together nervously.

Chrom eyed the stairs dubiously. "Good thing I took endurance exercises with Frederick…" He muttered, taking in a couple deep breaths to get the blood flowing.

With Tigress leading the way and Po bringing up the rear, the four began their trek up the Thousand Steps, each of them with varying degrees of reluctance.

* * *

"Woo! Now that's a workout," Chrom said as he triumphed over the final stone step, turning to look back down the imposing incline. He took Robin's wing and pulled her up to be level with him, smiling. "Frederick would've made us do another five trips up and down."

Robin chuckled as she dusted off her coat, looking a little tired but overall not too worse for wear. "Just five? I was thinking more along the lines of _ten,_"

Tigress stood off to the side with her arms folded, having arrived to the top about thirty seconds before. She refrained from speaking to the duo, but she kept a very close eye on them during their ascent. She had also listened in on their small talk, trying to find any evidence of plans to attack the Palace or the Five. Her efforts, however, were in vain. They were just talking about harmless things, like whoever this 'Frederick' person was. Her suspicions did not falter though, she knew people could act one way and immediately do a complete 180 in personality.

Speaking of Po, heavy breathing reached the three's ears, and looking back over to the massive flight of stairs they saw the panda slowly reach over the final step, laboriously pulling himself over the final hurdle. His chest was rising and falling in an exaggerated motion with each gulp of air he inhaled. "Ha… ha… how do you guys… do it so fast…?" He asked in between breaths, slowly getting to his feet with a grunt.

Robin could've sworn she saw the faintest smile appear on Tigress's face, but it was gone faster than she could blink. "I'm definitely asking Master Shifu to focus on endurance training for you."

Po only responded with a deep sigh, a paw on his chest. "Gr… Great… Can we… rest for sec?"

Tigress shook her head. "We'll rest when we get to Master Shifu. We're nearly there, anyway," She said, thought the last part was more directed at Chrom and Robin.

"So this is the Jade Palace?" said Chrom, looking over the building with an approving eye. "It's very beautiful."

Robin nodded in agreement. It was just the inside of what appeared to be a very large structure, but it was still very beautiful. A pair of vibrant red doors with a couple golden highlights stood as the entrance to what must have been a courtyard, and the architecture of the roof was absolutely stunning. Shimmering green tiles made up the top, accented by the same red as the door. A design that was unfamiliar to her separated the top and bottom part of the roof, and a carefully constructed golden statue of two dragons was perched on top. Just beyond the roof she could see another staircase, though it was nowhere near the size of the one they had just climbed, leading up to what was most likely an enormous main hall which had the same architecture as the main gate.

"This is the arena. We hold public tournaments here," Tigress explained, walking up to the red doors and pushing them open with almost no effort. They opened to reveal a large paved courtyard with a strange emblem in the middle, and what was most likely a seating area bordering the center.

"Tournaments?" Chrom repeated, immediately reminded of their time in Regna Ferox. "What kind of tournaments do you normally host?"

Po was the one to answer this time. "Oh, the Jade Palace does all sorts of cool kung fu tournaments that masters from all over China participate in! Master Chicken won his first ever kung fu title here, and the most recent one was when Oogway chose the Dragon Warrior!" He said enthusiastically.

Tigress grimaced ever so slightly, but quickly buried it. There were times that she still felt bitter over Master Oogway's decision, but she had learned to move on and accept that it was Po's destiny to become the Dragon Warrior.

Robin noticed this change in attitude, but didn't question it, deeming that it wasn't her business. "Am I correct in assuming that Master Shifu is waiting for us in there?" She guessed, pointing up to the grand hall that towered over everything.

Tigress's eyes snapped over to her, her brow furrowed in sudden suspicion. "How would you know that…? I thought you were foreigners." She questioned, words dripping with doubt.

"Basic knowledge of architecture, really," Robin responded smoothly, "When building something, people tend to place the most important structure higher than all of the others, and judging from your reaction I was correct."

There was a beat of silence as Tigress stared at the duo with a low growl, her orange eyes shooting daggers. Chrom was beginning to get annoyed with the Master's constant suspicion against them, wondering if this is what Robin felt like when she first met Frederick.

Po, of course, had no idea that sparks were beginning to fly between the two parties. "Woah-ho-ho-ho! That was, like, some super observation skills! Where'd you learn something like that?" The panda praised.

"Oh, well it's sort of my job to be observational." She replied, ignoring Tigress's obvious aggression towards her.

"Wow, really?! What do you do? Are you like, some sort of super scout or something?" Po questioned, giddy with the prospect of learning more about the two mysterious warriors.

Robin cracked a soft smile at Po's enthusiasm. 'If only the rest of the Shepherds were this eager to learn…' she mused. "I'd love to tell you, but right now I think we need to go talk to Master Shifu."

Po groaned in disappointment, but quickly perked back up. "Can I talk to you after, then? I have so many questions about your fighting style, and all the cool powers you might have!"

"I don't see why not." said Robin, shrugging slightly.

Po pumper his fist. "Awesome! I bet you have all sorts of amazing stuff, like laser eyes, or lightning fingers! Oh oh, what about-" the panda continued to ramble about all sorts of different combinations of strange powers, never even taking a breath in between words.

Robin and Chrom both looked at Po strangely, unused to somebody this… eccentric.

"Is he always like this?" Chrom whispered to Tigress.

She sighed, crossing her arms. "Yes, but you get used to it after a while."

The Exalt grimaced. He didn't know if he would ever get used to that amount of hyper-ness. "Well, thank you for escorting us Tigress, but I think we can handle the rest of the way."

Tigress was silent for a moment, before the glare that they had grown used to found its way back into her eyes. "When you speak with Shifu, you must treat him with the utmost respect. I will not tolerate anything less than that. He is the Grandmaster of this Palace for a reason."

Chrom sighed, inwardly hoping that her suspicion had lessened some. "Of course. You have my word," he assured, hitting his chest with a balled up paw.

"And remember what I said earlier," Tigress quickly added, "Don't. Try anything."

Robin nodded in acknowledgment, not wanting to rouse her any further since it would only make things harder for them. "You have _my _word as well, Master Tigress. Thank you again," she said before hooking Chro around the side with her wing and turning them both around, making their way up to the Hall of Warriors.

Tigress watched their retreating backs with a furrowed brow, her muscles tensed in anger.

Po, having stopped his ranting a couple moments ago, stepped up next to her, both of them watching the same thing. "I wonder what they wanna to talk to Master Shifu about. Maybe it's some sorta super-secret kung fu stuff?" He said.

His teammate growled lowly. "We're going to find out. Let's go get the others."

* * *

**Another one gone. I hope the fluff was enjoyable, and that the Kung Fu Panda characters didn't seem OOC. Next chapter will begin some more of the action, so stay tuned for that. The more I write this story, the more I love the Chrobin pairing, so I'm glad I chose to write this.**

**If you liked it? Didn't like it? Have questions? Leave a review, and I'll respond to them next chapter. Thanks again gamers.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, this got done a lot sooner than I thought it would. College and work have been really wearing me down, but I absolutely love how this story is coming out, so I always find time to write at least a little bit. I want to apologize in advance because I know last time I said that Robin would showing off more of her magic, but this chapter went in an entirely different direction than I expected it to. But, that's how stories go, right? You think you got it figured out, then you change everything at the last second.**

**This chapter really did get away from me in length, though. I intended it to be a little shorter than 9k words, but this chapter ended up being almost 13k in total. Let me know if this length is okay for you guys in the future, or if I should try to keep it lower. I won't promise anything, but I will take it into consideration.**

**Anyways, enough of this pre chapter stuff. Since we got no new reviews, we're just gonna jump right into the story. Hope you enjoy!**

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**Last time on Inner Peace: an Exalted Tale**

"_What's the matter with these people? They're looking at me like I don't belong here…"_

"_Uh… what exactly are _noodles_?"_

"_Well, in China, there is a saying. 'Bad color, bad omen', is what we usually believe,"_

"_You're the wind at my back…" "...And the sword at your side."_

"_Don't. Try anything."_

"_We're going to find out. Let's go get the others."_

* * *

Chapter 4

A Discussion Between Grandmasters

* * *

Shifu breathed deeply as he sat calmly in front of the Moon Pool, his ears sitting perfectly still atop his head. His nose was filled with the scent of incense, the many candles he had lit around him serving as a calming agent. Before the Dragon Warrior incident, Shifu would have a very hard time meditating peacefully, letting any small noise or distraction ruin his concentration. Now that he has found Inner Peace, however, letting his mind fall into a meditative state was almost second nature to him. There were no more demons for him to face, no more obstacles he had to overcome. He was now truly one with kung fu. Now all that was left was to pass his learnings onto the next generation of masters, and that was coming along quite well.

He knew he didn't have much time left to teach. He was getting old, and he would like to spend the rest of his life living a peaceful, stress-free existence. He would have to train Po to become the next Grandmaster of the palace, as the role of the Dragon Warrior dictates, but he knew it would be sometime before he was anywhere close to being ready for that much responsibility, most likely a couple of years at the very least.

The door to the Hall of Warriors creaked open behind him, breaking him from his trance.

'That must be them…' He thought to himself, dropping down silently from his perch on Oogway's staff. The Moon Pool rippled when the staff disrupted the surface, though the water quickly calmed, letting the reflection of the dragon statue above gaze through it.

Light shone through the large double doors as Chrom and Robin stepped into the large hall, the hinges creaking with age.

Chrom whistled lowly as he walked forward, his feet chilled from the cool ceramic tiles. "Wow… this place does scream _Warriors_, huh," he whispered to his wife, noticing the many sets of armor and different weapons set up on display up and down the hall. One set of armor looked like it was designed for someone with a horn, and there was an interesting looking sword that looked almost as sharp as Falchion.

"So many weapons… I wonder how they all work?" Robin muttered, already formulating how she could incorporate each and every little thing into her plans. The paintings that were hung up above some of the armaments were quite interesting as well, depicting what must've been the weapon's wielder, along with more of that strange dialect. 'Note to self; take lessons on this new language.' She thought, knowing that they wouldn't make it far in this new land without learning the local language.

While the weapons were quite eye catching, the way the hall was constructed added to how mystical and legendary it felt. Huge green pillars with intricate designs of dragons winding up to the top stood in a line all the way to the end of the hall, which had the perfect amount of natural light flowing in from both sides to give it a feeling of importance. At the end of the hall sat an octagonal pool of water, with what appeared to be pink petals floating on top. The light bounced off of it's mirror-like surface, giving the pool an ethereal glow. The dragon statue that was hanging above the water was just as beautiful, if not more so. It was intricately carved out of what looked like pure gold, down to the finest whisker on the dragon's muzzle.

"Wow… now _these _are some amazing decorations…" Robin muttered, looking up at the dragon statue. "It probably took ages to build this place,"

Chrom nodded in agreement. "It really is something else… puts Castle Ylisse's decor to shame, sadly," he chuckled, his paws on his hips. His eyes were also drawn to the golden dragon above as they neared the small pool of water, enraptured with its beauty.

"Quite beautiful, isn't it?"

Chrom and Robin yelled out in shock, before turning around in a split second with their hands on their weapons, not unsheathing them but poised to defend themselves against whoever had snuck up behind them.

Of course, when that 'whoever' was actually a short, aged red panda, they calmed, relinquishing their hold on their weapons. "O-oh. apologies, sir, we thought that you were…" Chrom coughed awkwardly, his legs no longer crouched in anticipation.

Shifu had been watching them with interest as they walked around the Hall of Warriors, wanting to test them to see if they truly were the warriors he was supposed to meet. The sword on the wolf's hip was assuredly not just for show, and the peacock most likely had something quite literally up her sleeve, if the small glint of steel he saw was any indication. He was very adept at sneaking up on someone without their knowledge, so he wasn't at all surprised by their shocked reactions.

What did catch him off guard, however, was how fast they spun around to face him, hands on their weapons. The sign of a true warrior was normally how fast they reacted to danger around them, and these two obviously had extensive combat experience. Even he would have trouble getting a surprise-attack off on these two in a true battle, and likely the only reason they were surprised by him was because they weren't paying attention.

"No need to apologize. I was simply observing you," said Shifu, smiling faintly with a devious glint in his eyes. He always enjoyed giving people a scare with his speed. "I trust the journey here wasn't too stressful?"

Chrom and Robin glanced at each other. "Well… Master Tigress seemed a tad annoyed with us, but other than that it was fine." Robin said, recalling the tiger's blatant suspicion towards them.

Shifu nodded, as if he was expecting such a thing from his pupil. "I thought so. Don't hold it against her. She's just very protective of me and the valley, and doesn't easily trust strangers."

"Sounds like someone we know…" Robin muttered under her breath.

Either Shifu didn't notice her speak, or he chose to ignore it. "In any case, let me be the first to welcome you to the Jade Palace. I am Master Shifu, the grandmaster of the Palace." He introduced himself formally, nodding his head in greeting.

The two travelers took this as the cue to bow in respect to the master, remembering Tigress's words of showing absolute respect to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Shifu. I am Robin, and this is my husband Chrom," she said in the middle of her bow, holding the position for a moment before rising slowly, Chrom mirroring her actions.

Shifu raised an eyebrow in slight surprise upon hearing the word husband. 'They're married? That's unusual for this part of China… just where are they from?' He wondered, trying to think of any nearby countries or provinces where inter species marriage was common.

"My apologies, Master Shifu, but is something wrong with Chrom being my husband?" Robin asked with an undertone of anger, not liking how literally everybody that she has told that they were married has reacted negatively in some way.

"Hm? Oh, no," Shifu assured, confused with the question at first before remembering they were foreigners, and therefore didn't know their beliefs and customs. "Not at all. Just a tad surprising, since inter species relationships aren't very common in China. Of course, there are those who frown upon it, but I can assure you I am not one of those people."

"Ah…" Robin nodded in understanding, appeased with his answer. 'This place is so different in so many ways… first I have to learn an entirely new language, and now a new beliefs system?' She thought to herself, starting to realize just how different this 'China' place really was compared to Ylisse. "I suppose that makes sense. I apologize for my outburst."

Master Shifu waved her off. "No need to apologize. Now, as I was saying, welcome to the Jade Palace. The room you are currently standing in is called the Hall of Warriors, though I'm sure Tigress already mentioned that."

"I believe she said something to that extent," Chrom recalled, nodding in affirmation.

"Is this place built in memoriam to late warriors of some sort?" Robin asked, glancing around at the wide assortment of armor and weapons.

Shifu nodded slowly, his eyes moving over to a painting of what looked like an old tortoise standing on one leg atop a cliff face, his tired, wizened eyes staring at something that was off in the distance. A pink tree stood above him, and he was holding a gnarled wooden staff that looked very old, even in the confines of the painting. That same staff was actually being held up by a weapon rack of sorts in front of the painting, and Robin could feel some sort of inert magical power within the unassuming staff.

The red panda eyed the staff with a fond sadness, a feeling that one who has lost someone close to them knows well. "Yes. Each weapon you see here once belonged to a master of kung fu, and every one of them revolutionized their art in some way."

"Really?" Chrom said in interest, eyeing the weapons in a new light. It reminded him of the hidden armory in Castle Ylisse, and he gripped Falchions handle with his left paw subconsciously.

Shifu nodded, tearing his gaze away from the gnarled staff. "I'm sure that if Po were here he would spend the next few hours explaining the history behind each and every little thing, but right now we have more pressing matters. I believe you wished to speak with me?"

"Oh, yeah," Robin affirmed, almost forgetting why they were even there in the first place. "We need your assistance, Master Shifu."

Shifu raised an eyebrow. "What for? From what I read, you two are entirely capable of handling yourself, are you not?"

"While that is true, our problem doesn't involve any bandits or battles," She continued, "To put it simply? We're lost. _Very _lost."

"Lost, you say? Couldn't you have asked the people of Xiao Village for directions?" Shifu asked.

"We could have, but I doubt they would've known of a Halidom called Ylisse. I'm fairly certain it won't likely appear on any maps, either," said Robin, folding her wings behind her back as she spoke.

"Ylisse…" Shifu repeated, rolling the name around his tongue. "I can't say I've heard of such a place."

Robin nodded grimly, her fears being realized. "I see… that makes things a tad more difficult," she said, a wing on her chin.

Shifu looked like he was already growing frustrated by how cryptic Robin was being. "I would appreciate it if you could tell me what exactly you're talking about, peacock."

Robin frowned at the master's tone, but nonetheless continued into her explanation. "How do I say this…" she muttered, trying to think of something that wouldn't make her look insane. She couldn't just outright say they were from another world. 'I'll have to tread carefully here…'

"We're from another world." Her husband butted in after a second of silence, effectively ruining any semblance of plans she had.

Both Robin and Shifu quickly turned to face Chrom in shock, although the shock was for different reasons. "_Chrom! What are you doing?!_" She whispered.

Chrom glanced over to her, not looking guilty about ruining her plans in the slightest. "_Don't worry. I have a plan,_" he whispered back, sounding confident in himself.

That did nothing to relieve her worry. 'Chrom? A plan?... we're doomed.'

"Did you just say another _world?_" Shifu repeated back incredulously, disbelief etched across his features.

"Yes, I did. I know it sounds impossible, but please, hear us out." Chrom asked the red panda, officially taking charge in the conversation. Robin simply watched from the sidelines, one part curious as to how he was going to explain his way out of this one, and one part angry that he blew any chance of normality their story would have had.

Master Shifu didn't say anything. He stood there as he looked at Chrom expectantly, which he took as his cue to explain his outlandish claim. "As Robin said before, we are from a land called Ylisse. It's one of three major countries on the continent of the same name, along with Regna-Ferox and Plegia. I am the leader of an armed force, and Robin here is my head tactician."

As Chrom spoke, Robin noticed a flash of green zip behind one of the pillars to her right. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, suddenly feeling a pair of eyes on her back, but shook it off, not wanting to make a big deal out of what could possibly be nothing.

Meanwhile, Shifu had his brow furrowed in concentration as he listened to Chrom, staring into his eyes as he spoke. He was very good at picking out lies that people told, but he didn't detect any misleading statements or blurring of the truth in the wolf's speech. His words seemed entirely _truthful_, as unbelievable as that was. "A totally new world…" He muttered, thinking of the implications from this revelation. If they were telling the truth, then it could be _revolutionary _for all of China. "If you truly are from this unheard of country, then how did you get from your world to here?"

"I'm our world, magic is commonplace. It's used in combat, weapon-making and enchanting to name a few uses. Robin is actually one of the most proficient mages I've ever met," he praised his wife, making her turn slightly pink in embarrassment. "We were originally going to go to a completely different world using an Outrealm Gate, but something happened, and we ended up here instead." Chrom finished.

"That's… probably the most outlandish thing I've ever heard," Shifu said bluntly, his eyes wide as he tried to process this story.

Chrom nodded in understanding. "I thought the same thing, and I'm the one _telling _the story."

Shifu sighed heavily, his eyes screwed shut in deep thought. He stayed silent for a moment, before speaking in a low voice. "...I need to think about this. Please give me a moment." He said, before slowly walking over to the pool of water underneath the dragon statue, an obvious limp in his step.

Robin waited until the old master about twenty feet away from them before turning over to Chrom with an incredulous look on her face. "_Why did you do that?! There's no way in _hell _we're getting any help from him after that!_" She whispered harshly.

"_Robin, calm down. I think that this is the best course of action, and besides, he says he needs to think on it, so there's a chance._" Chrom defended, content with how he explained the situation to Shifu.

"_Calm down?! How can I calm down when he's probably trying to decide if he throws us in jail for being mentally unstable or kicking us out of the country?_"

Chrom sighed. It wasn't often that this happened, but sometimes Robin did go a little over the top when she worried about something too much. "_Honey. It's _fine. _Trust me. And if he doesn't believe us, then we'll figure something out, okay?_"

Robin sputtered indignantly for a moment, before sighing in defeat. "_...Alright. I trust you,_"

Chrom smiled warmly. "_That's all I ask._"

Robin was initially going to smile back, but something above her caught her eye. It was a flash of orange that appeared then disappeared in an instant, but she noticed before it completely disappeared into the rafters. Her brow furrowed, remembering the glimpse of green she saw earlier. "_Someone's here…" _she muttered to Chrom.

His eyes widened a tad. "_What? Really? How many?_" He quickly asked, his hand back to gripping Falchion.

"_Hold on_." She said, dipping into her mana reserves. While most mages only used their mana to cast spells, Robin had found out that there were many ways to use the mystical force. For example, if one were extremely proficient in the usage of mana, they could create a small pocket dimension to store items in. The better the mage, the bigger the space. Robin has figured out how to employ some of these, but they were quite small at the moment, only capable of holding a weapon or two. That was actually how she held her two swords up her sleeves without anyone noticing.

Pooling some mana around her, she slowly spread a wave of energy all around the room. Her frown deepened when her mana alerted her to five foreign presences hidden in different parts of the Hall, and one standing just outside the double doors. "_There's six._"

Chrom grit his teeth in frustration. "_Damnit… why can't we go anywhere without getting attacked?_" He muttered, getting ready to draw Falchion.

Robin stopped him before he could unsheathe the legendary sword, however. "_Not yet. We don't know who these people are. They could be guards of some sort, just acting as protectors or patrolling the area._" She ordered.

Chrom nodded, getting back into a neutral stance. "_Alright, but if they prove to be hostile then I won't hesitate to attack._"

The peacock smirked. "_I don't expect anything less._"

While they were dealing with their small predicament, Shifu was deep in thought over by the Moon Pool, taking deep breaths so he may calm his mind. His thoughts were running wild with this new, seemingly impossible information. His rational side was saying that their story was nothing short of impossible, and believing it would be foolish.

However… he had seen the sincerity behind Chrom's words, and as his master had told him many times before, nothing was impossible. The amount of detail he had given him was also quite a lot if their story is made up, and it did give him some credibility.

'_You can't possibly believe these two_,' the rational part of his brain countered, not liking his train of thought at the moment. '_Their story is absolutely insane. Another world? That's something a child's imagination would make up,_'

Shifu wasn't entirely convinced, however. While it was true that it was a stretch, there is a possibility that it was true. After all, It's possible to travel between the Spirit Realm and the Mortal Realm, what's to say that it wasn't possible to travel from one world to another? Besides, if they truly were from another world and he refused to offer his aid, then he was passing up a valuable opportunity to learn more on the existence of alternate realities.

Perhaps offering his trust and aid was the best thing he could do right now.

Shifu slowly rose to his feet, his eyes opening with finality. His mind was made up.

His two guests noticed his movement, their gaze swiveling from around the Hall and back to him. Chrom took a step towards the red panda, his hand on his hip where Falchion was as a precaution due to the six uninvited bodies around them. "I trust you've made a decision?" He asked, his voice carrying a tinge of hope.

'This is going to go badly…' Robin thought nervously, her anxious eyes boring a hole in the back of Master Shifu's head.

The old master stayed silent for a moment, as if weighing his options. "...I think that before I give you any aid, I would like to know what exactly you need from me."

The relief that flashed across both of their faces was easily noticeable, but it was quickly brushed away when Chrom spoke again. "We were hoping that you would have any information regarding something called an 'Outrealm Gate'. It's the item that brought us here by accident, so maybe we could use it to go back," he explained.

Shifu was tempted to repeat one of his master's favorite phrases, but refrained from doing so. "An Outrealm gate…" he muttered, the name sounding very vaguely familiar to him. "There might be some reference to such a thing in one of the scrolls in our archives."

"Really?!" Robin nearly yelled out in shock and relief, almost in disbelief that Chrom's bluntness had actually worked in their favor. She quickly cleared her throat awkwardly when she noticed the strange look she was getting from Master Shifu. "I-er, yes, that would be… be great. If you could look for us, Master Shifu, then we would be very grateful," She said, toning down her excitement.

Shifu smirked at her enthusiasm. (At least, that's what he thought it was…) "I would like to look through the ancient scrolls Oogway left us, but it will take some time. There's hundreds of thousands of different scrolls in the archives, and while I think that one of them may mention this 'Outrealm Gate', it's going to be a while before I figure out which scroll that is."

"No matter how long it takes, we will be waiting patiently for your findings." said Robin, bowing her head slightly.

Shifu raised an eyebrow. "Where will you be staying while I search? I can't imagine you have a set place in mind,"

"Well… You'd be right about that, Master Shifu," Chrom said sheepishly, "Most likely we'll be living off the land around town, hopefully find a good area for shelter."

Shifu eyed them strangely for a moment. "I don't think that would be a very good idea. Bandits are running rampant in different forests in the valley, unfortunately, and we have yet to locate their base of operations."

"Bandits?" Chrom repeated, his eyes narrowing slightly. "They wouldn't happen to be the same ones that were ransacking Xiao Village?"

"The very same," Shifu confirmed, nodding grimly. "I have been planning to send the Five for assistance, but my duties and their training had us preoccupied."

Robin didn't like the face Chrom was making right now. He usually made that expression when he was angry and about to do something stupid. "So you're telling me that your duties were more important than the lives of innocents, then?" He boldly accused, his eyes narrowed in fury.

Shifu almost instantaneously shifted into a more aggressive manner of speech, a glare that could rival her own shooting right through Chrom. "Of course I wasn't. Do you think it's easy to protect an entire valley with only six competent warriors available at your side? Xiao Village, while on my list of concerns, was not the highest priority. When you only have limited resources, you have to make sacrifices."

Chrom growled, looking like he wanted to say more, but refrained himself, noting the look Robin was shooting him. Her eyes were basically telling him 'say one more thing you moron and I'll blast you to the stars and back'. "...Apologies, Master Shifu. I overstepped my boundaries." He said, though it was clear as day that he didn't truly believe those words.

"Please try to control your temper in the future." Shifu said, limping past the two.

Robin cleared her throat, trying to move past her husband's small outburst. "As we were saying before, we can handle ourselves. No need to worry about us."

"While I do not doubt you can handle a small group of bandits, I'm not so sure you can hold off an entire horde of them." Shifu stopped moving towards the door, now about two pillars away. "So, I have a proposition for you two."

Chrom and Robin blinked in surprise, glancing between each other. "... What kind of proposition?" She asked in interest, one of her eyebrows piqued.

Shifu smirked ever so slightly. "I'm sure that you know by now that I am a teacher of kung fu, and this Palace is a place for my students to train?" He asked rhetorically, eliciting a nod from the two of them. "Since you have no other place to go, why don't you become students here? You would have a place to stay, and all I ask in return is that you assist the Five and the Dragon Warrior on their missions."

Robin and Chrom's eyes widened in shock. Not even Robin could have seen an offer like that coming. "Wha… really? That-"

They were interrupted by a very audible crash on the other side of the hall, followed by a couple frantic footsteps. The three glanced over, only to see that one of the pedestals had been knocked over by some unseen force. The red panda narrowed his eyes. "Who's there?" He called.

Robin decided to speak up about what she had sensed earlier. "Master Shifu, is it normal for five presences to be in this hall, and one presence just outside the door?"

"What? Five presences…" Shifu sighed in exasperation when he realized who was here with them. "Students! I would _appreciate _it if you wouldn't eavesdrop on my private conversations!"

There was no response for a moment, then a flurry of movement appeared from all around them. A snake dropped down from the rafters above, it's long coils falling smoothly onto the floor. It smiled sheepishly, looking apologetically at Shifu. Another bird that had long, thin legs and a disc-like hat flew up from the large opening in the wall, also looking guilty at being caught. A small bug zipped over from behind one of the pillars, averting his eyes from Shifu's angry gaze. A monkey dropped down from the same hiding spot the snake was in, grinning in a very 'you caught me' way. What surprised Robin was Tigress walking out from behind the pillar where the stand was knocked over, looking extremely angry and glaring at the two of them.

"What do you five think you're doing? Don't you have any respect for your superior's privacy?!" Shifu reprimanded furiously, moving his gaze from student to student.

The five students all placed their fists into their palms and bowed apologetically, though Tigress did it somewhat reluctantly. "We're sorry, master. We were just curious about what your meeting was about." The snake said, her fork like tongue flicking in and out of her mouth after she spoke.

The bug cleared his throat. "It was Tigress's idea…" he muttered, before clearing his throat again.

Tigress glanced over to the bug like she wanted to squish him then and there, but otherwise didn't say anything, staying in her bowing position.

Shifu sighed again. "Tigress. I understand you are protective of the Palace, but my affairs are mine and mine alone."

"Master, you cannot be serious about making them students at the palace! We barely know anything about them, and from what I heard of their story is _laughable_ at best," Tigress argued, gesturing over to Chrom and Robin with an angry wave of her arm.

"While it is outlandish, it is _not _impossible. Master Oogway used to travel through the Spirit Realm regularly, so what makes their story different?" Shifu countered.

"Because they're saying they are from another world entirely! That's something out of children's stories, master!"

"Enough, Tigress! My decision is final!" Shifu snapped, making her recoil ever so slightly.

She growled lowly, but conceded the argument anyway, bowing her head with a furrowed brow.

Shifu took a deep breath to calm himself before he turned back to Chrom and Robin. "My offer still stands. The decision, however, is up to you."

"I think…" Robin started, glancing over to Chrom. He nodded in affirmation, telling her to go ahead with whatever she had planned. "I think we'll take you up on your offer. Learning a new fighting style could be beneficial for us."

Shifu smiled at her answer, while Tigress glowered at them in the background. "Excellent." He turned to look at his students. "I suppose it's better that you're all here, so I can introduce you to our two newest team members."

"Chrom, Robin? Meet the Furious Five," Shifu introduced, before pointing at each individual member. "Master Viper, Master Crane, Master Mantis, Master Monkey, and you already know Master Tigress."

Robin bowed in greeting, getting used to this new land's mannerisms. Chrom, being the dense dork he was, waved at the five. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can learn to work well together." She said, trying to make a good impression on the other members of the Five, since they had already failed with Tigress.

Viper smiled at the duo, moving smoothly upwards so she could look her in the eye a little easier. "It's nice to meet you, too! It'll be nice to have another girl I can talk to," she greeted.

"I'm sure that we'll get along just fine," said Robin, smiling warmly at the snake.

Viper nodded in agreement, before suddenly getting hushed. "And don't worry about Tigress. She's normally like this around new people. She'll come around…" they glanced over to said Tiger, who was still trying to burn a hole in the couple's skulls with her eyes. "...Eventually."

Chrom chuckled sheepishly under his breath. "I hope so… she looks like she's going to kill me in my sleep,"

"You guys are actually from another world?" Mantis suddenly interrupted, hopping up onto Chrom's shoulderguard. "That's super weird if it's true. Doesn't that technically make you aliens?"

"I… suppose it does. I hadn't even thought I'd like that, actually." Robin replied.

Crane stalked up to the two, eyeing them with a certain amount of skepticism. "I'm sure you have good intentions, but I gotta say, it is a little… unbelievable." He admitted.

"That's fine, Master Crane. As long as you give us a chance, then we won't force you to believe us." Chrom assured, clapping the bird on the shoulder (wing?) as a sign of friendliness.

Crane almost toppled forward from the unnecessary force behind the gesture, but he smiled at the wolf nonetheless. "Th-thanks… I'll keep that in mind. And it's just Crane."

"Good luck getting Tigress to believe you," Monkey joked, jabbing a thumb in her direction. "It took Po defeating Tai Lung to get her to believe in him!"

Robin chuckled under her breath, looking over to the tiger who hadn't said a word during their small introduction. "I can tell it's going to be a challenge…"

Shifu watched approvingly as his students quickly warmed up to the duo, save for Tigress of course. He always wanted his pupils to get along with each other, since teamwork is a key aspect of their job, but he hoped his daughter would break out of her cold shell in time.

However, he felt like something was missing from this scene. Something large… and energetic.

He blinked. "Tigress," he called, snapping her eyes to his own. "Where is Po?"

She almost immediately groaned in realization. "Po!" She called over to the large set of double doors, breaking up the conversation happening over in the center of the hall.

There was a brief moment of silence before the doors burst open with a yell as your friendly neighborhood Dragon Warrior did a somersault into the room.

Or at least, he tried to. It was more of a roll than anything else. Nevertheless, he jumped to his feet, paws raised in a chopping motion. "Alright, bad guys! Prepare to face my fists of jusss…" He trailed off when he noticed everyone was staring at him, and that there were no bad guys at all to taste his 'fists of justice'. He most assuredly noticed Shifu's withering gaze. "Uh, h-hey, Master Shifu, just uh… testing my battle entrances, y'know? Gotta make sure those evil dudes get the message!" He punctuated his statement by throwing out an air punch.

Shifu gave him deadpan look. "I'm sure. Now that you're here, however, I would like to introduce you to your new teammates, Robin and Chrom." He said, gesturing over to the peacock and wolf respectively.

Po's eyes widened considerably when he heard those words, glancing between Shifu and the two new students rapidly. "Wait wait wait, you're making them students here?" He asked incredulously.

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Shifu chuckled.

The panda didn't say anything for a moment, just staring at the two of them with wide eyes, before he finally squealed in excitement. "That's _awesome_! Aw man, I can't wait to see what kind of awesome fighting style you guys have! And is that a sword!?" Po pointed to Falchion strapped to Chrom's hip, bouncing on his feet. "Oh ho ho, that's freakin' _amazing_! You gotta show me it!"

"Uhh… maybe later. Falchion isn't something that I regularly display," said Chrom, slightly off put by his endless enthusiasm. Even Lissa would get tired from dealing with Po.

Shifu cleared his throat so he could cut off the panda's rambling before it got out of hand. "Speaking of fighting style, why don't we meet at the training ground? I'd like to see how you two do in a spar against one of the Five," Shifu said, nodding towards the now open doors.

Tigress huffed. "Good. I feel like fighting something right now." She said coldly, already making her way to the open doors. Her fists were clenched in unsung fury, and there was an almost oppressive aura that someone could feel if they got too close.

Shifu sighed as he watched her go, regret eating him away from the inside. He couldn't help but feel responsible when he saw her like this, not giving her the love she so desperately needed when she was just a cub. He had focused so much on her training that he forgot to focus on what he should actually be doing; being a parent.

The remaining students watched her walk off, before they all looked at Chrom and Robin with pity in their eyes. "Good luck… you're gonna need it with _that _attitude," Mantis said as he hopped from Chrom's shoulder to Monkey's, his antenna twitching slightly.

Monkey simply shrugged with a sheepish smile, making Mantis rock slightly from the sudden movement. "Sorry, you two. Not much we can do when she gets like this," he apologized before hopping away, Mantis holding firmly to his fur.

"It's fine. I'm sure she won't do anything drastic if we have to spar her," Robin waved him off as he left, though the logical part of her brain didn't quite agree with that statement. She sighed slowly, her shoulders tensed with stress already. 'It's going to take more than just a friendly spar for her to warm up to us… this might be one of my more challenging assignments yet.'

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Crane warned, his wing folded just a little more tightly where Chrom had 'hit' him. "Tigress can get a little reckless when she's mad like this."

Robin smirked as she looked over to her husband, her wings folded smugly. "Sounds like _somebody _I know…" she teased.

Chrom chuckled as he rubbed the back of his furry neck, his tail wagging lazily behind him. "Ha… You got me there,"

Robin laughed along with him, her cheeks a soft pink. "I appreciate your concern, Crane, but we'll be fine," she assured her new teammate, "We've handled worse punishment."

"Alright, but don't blame me when you get stuck with Mantis's acupuncture." He said, inwardly glad that these new students were somewhat normal. He didn't know if he would be able to handle another Po, or another Tigress. He shivered slightly at the thought.

Robin's eyebrow quirked when she heard the word acupuncture. 'Acupuncture…? That doesn't sound very pleasant…' She was going to ask the bird more, but he was already airborne outside, his conical hat blocking out the sun for a moment.

'...Hold on a moment. I'm a bird… Why haven't I tried to fly yet!?' Robin inwardly facepalmed harder than any other being has before. How could she overlook such a huge detail about her new body? She made a mental note to test out this body's flight capabilities.

"I'll meet you two at the training area!" Viper said as she slithered past the two, her emerald green scales glinting in the sunlight.

Chrom waved as she went, glad the rest of his new teammates were friendly. "Thanks again for your kindness Master Viper."

And with that, the two were alone. Master Shifu had slipped away unnoticed somehow, which made Robin wonder just how fast he truly was. He had seemingly appeared out of the shadows when he first introduced himself, and she was sure that no one had been around them when they walked in.

"Well, let's get going to the… training grounds, he said?" asked Chrom, though he was more questioning his own recollection.

"Yeah! I can't wait to see you guys fight!"

Chrom and Robin yelled out in shock from the sudden voice right behind them, but when they turned they were relieved and somewhat surprised to see Po standing there. "Gods, Po… Don't sneak up on me like that!" The Exalt said, his hand slowly slipping from Falchion's handle.

"Oh! My bad, my bad," Po quickly apologized, not wanting to get on these two mysterious warrior's bad side. "I'm just so excited! Master Shifu said that I should take you guys down to the ol' training place, and I have so many questions!"

"Oh…" Robin drawled, glancing over to her husband. He also had grimaced at his proposition, but it wasn't like they had room to argue. "How fun."

* * *

"No _way_! So, like, only _you're _able to use it?!"

"Well, not exactly." Chrom said, tilting Falchion in his grip as they walked through the Palace grounds. "You have to have Naga's blood flowing within you, and even then it has to deem you worthy. I guess I just got lucky," He explained, smiling at his reflection in the ancient sword.

Po sucked in this information like a sponge, an awed look on his face. "That's gotta be, like, one of the coolest swords ever. I mean, you've gotta have like special blood and all that, and I don't even think the Sword of Heroes has that kind of stuff," he ranted, referring to the legendary sword on display back at the Hall of Warriors. His eyes were wide with wonder, and he was jittering almost constantly from the overload of things he has learned about their homeland.

The two thought that the walk to the training grounds was going to be tedious, since they hadn't gotten much chances to rest since arriving here and Po's boundless energy for all things kung fu was tiring enough on its own, but his eagerness to learn about where they had come from was almost… refreshing. His surprise was immense when he learned they were actually from another world, but that surprise was quickly replaced with awe. It was just starting to occur to them just how much they missed the comfortable familiarity of Ylisse, and talking about their country with someone who cares helped dull the ache a bit.

That's not to say they weren't enjoying their surroundings, however. The Jade Palace was absolutely beautiful on the inside as well. Gardens that had flowers and trees that they had never seen before were filling up the many plots of soil that the palace servants were tending to, and expertly carved statues of warriors long past were spread evenly across the paved stone path. Of course, Po had to spout some random fact about each one they passed in between questions about their world. The air seemed cleaner up here as well, and the breeze carried the faint scent of something fruity. All in all, if they were going to be staying in a place like this, they most definitely didn't mind.

"Special blood is one way to put it, I suppose," Chrom chuckled as he carefully inserted the sword back into its sheath, the sound of metal on metal ringing out as the blade scraped along the inside with a satisfying _click_ at the end.

"Can you let me try it out sometime? Maybe since I'm the Dragon Warrior and all, it'll let me skip the whole blood thing," Po pleaded, eyeing Falchion like a child would with a new toy.

"Er… I don't know," He said, placing a hand on his sword's pommel protectively. Falchion was more than just a sword to him, it was like an extension of himself. He had wielded it for so long that he actually felt more comfortable with it than without it.

"C'mooon, please? I swear I'm not gonna break it or anything," Po continued to beg, bouncing on his feet. His persistence to wield Falchion was beginning to get on Chrom's nerves, if his tightening grip on his pommel was any indication.

This didn't get past Robin, who was currently trying to find a way to steer the conversation away from Chrom's sword. She knew just how important Falchion was to him, so she knew Chrom wanted some way out of the conversation. Of course, considering Po's determination to try out the weapon, that was going to be easier said than done.

Thankfully, she wouldn't have to think too hard, because they finally arrived at the training grounds. It actually reminded Robin of their own specific training area back at Ylisse, just instead of paved stone it was packed dirt. There were a couple wooden training dummies off to the side that looked as though they had been used quite generously, and some more equipment was stacked near the wall. The Furious Five were standing at attention in a line, though it was clear by their shifting eyes they were waiting quite impatiently. Shifu was pacing back and forth, his brow creased in anger and worry. 'How long have we been walking through the Palace?' Robin idly wondered. Had Po been leading them down wrong turns and the like just so he could ask them questions about themselves?

"Looks like we're here," Robin interrupted Po's persistent begging.

Chrom shot her a thankful smile, and Po groaned in disappointment that he hadn't gotten him to say yes. "Alright, maybe later, then?"

"...Probably not." said Chrom honestly, shaking his head in finality.

"Aw, man…" the panda whined, before he shrugged. "It was worth a shot. We're here, Master Shifu!" He called to his master, jogging over with heavy footfalls to join the five others.

Shifu glanced over in surprise, though that very quickly shifted into anger. "Po! What were you doing our there?! It only takes two minutes to get here from the Hall of Warriors!" He asked furiously, pounding the butt end of the gnarled staff they had seen in said Hall into the dirt.

The smile on Po's muzzle fell faster than Sumia used to on solid ground. "O-oh, y'know, I was just, uh… showin' them around?" He answered, though it sounded more like he was questioning if that was the right response.

The deadpan glare that Shifu shot at him was enough to tell him that it definitely wasn't. "Get over here," Shifu ordered, jabbing the staff over by the rest of the students.

Po nodded meekly before running over as quickly as he could to stand by Tigress, who still had a hard scowl on her face.

Shifu sighed in frustration, rubbing his forehead tentatively with his free hand. "Right… now that we are all finally here, we can begin your first day of training." He said forebodingly, the faintest of smirks present. Robin could swear that there was an actual glint in his eye when he said that, and she didn't quite like how most of the Five shifted uncomfortably when he said that, though Po just looked excited.

"Let's get started then. I haven't had a good spar in ages," Chrom said, cracking his knuckles with a nostalgic smile on his face. When the war had finished and he was crowned Exalt, his time for recreational activities had diminished greatly. He used to greatly enjoy sparring with Lon'qu, Vaike and even his wife, but those had gone to the wayside when his plate had quite literally been filled to the brim with paperwork and other duties.

Robin scoffed playfully, shooting her husband a look. "Please. You haven't sparred in a while because you were tired of getting beaten by your own wife."

There were varying looks of surprise from the Furious Five at the word 'wife', although at this point that was becoming commonplace anytime they referenced that they were married. Chrom rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "What can I say? You're a fast learner," he said, remembering how clunky and unnaturally she moved with a sword at first. It had taken many months of nonstop practice on her part, but now she was a swordswoman on par with the finest knights in Ylisse.

Shifu lightly chuckled at the interaction. He could already tell things were going to be much livelier around the Palace with these two taking up residency in its halls, whether he liked it or not.

"Robin," he called, snapping her attention back to her new teacher. "Since you have similar builds, your opponent will be Master Crane."

The tactician nodded in acknowledgment, and so did her opponent as he made his way to the opposite side of the dirt field. She shook her wings out as she walked over to her side of the grounds, her feathers wavering in the slight breeze and the crest on the back of her head tingling in anticipation. Chrom joined the other students in spectating the battle, eager to see what his wife could do.

"This is a no weapons spar, correct?" She asked the red panda on the sidelines, her wings feeling the familiar chill of the cool metal on her tempered silver blade. She was inwardly hoping she could use at least a training blade, but she could definitely fight unarmed if she needed to.

Shifu's eyebrow rose questioningly. "Yes, that is correct. The art of kung fu is mainly hand-to-hand combat,"

Robin nodded in confirmation, removing her wing from the blade hidden up her sleeve. Perhaps it was best she didn't show all of her cards this early, in case she needed to keep the element of surprise for later. After all, the unknown always had the advantage. 'Something that Chrom has trouble understanding…'

Across from her, Crane bent his spindly legs so he was in a ready stance, and Robin did the same, smoothly transitioning into the stance Lon'qu had taught her when she had asked for assistance in learning the Chon'sin fighting style. "Ready when you are," she called to her opponent, smiling at the familiar rush of adrenaline that shot through her veins.

Crane's smile was warm and inviting, but his eyes were burning with a fiery determination. "Good luck."

Shifu glanced between both of the combatants, before raising his small paw and snapping his fingers, the sharp noise resounding across the stone walls around the makeshift arena.

There was a brief moment of stillness as they stared each other down, but then in a flurry of movement the two birds rushed each other down, intent on taking down one another. Robin yelled out a battle cry as she swung her wing in a chopping motion at his neck, but he ducked under the blow with ease in a show of just how agile he truly was. Robin had anticipated his dodge, however, so she carried her momentum into a sweeping motion with her long tail, just like she had down with the bandits back in Xiao village.

She was quickly reminded that she was dealing with someone that had the title of 'master' and not some lowly brigand when he effortlessly jumped over her long appendage and turned into a roundhouse kick that Robin was barely able to dodge. She grunted in surprise when she felt the power behind that one kick, the air rushing past her ear. Initially, she expected him to carry the advantage state he had, but he simply flapped in the air once and landed softly on the dirt below, adapting a perfectly still defensive stance.

She quickly regained her own hybrid stance, panting from how much effort that one exchange had taken. 'He's deceptively strong…' she thought to herself, now realizing just how much strength was hidden in those thin legs of his.

"Woah, she's pretty fast!" Mantis praised from the sidelines, slightly surprised from the sudden burst of speed from her.

Viper nodded in agreement. "I'm surprised she can move that quickly with that heavy coat she's wearing…"

"That coat is actually a lot lighter than it looks," Chrom informed, remembering when he had… _accidentally _tried it on when she was away one day. "And it offers a decent amount of protection too."

"Haha! That was awesome! Didja guys see how she moved her tail like 'hiyah', and Crane just jumped over it like it was nothing!" Po ranted excitedly, pointing at the action with a shaky finger.

Robin and Crane stared at each other in silence for a moment, letting the peacock catch her breath. She knew she needed a new plan of attack. 'Okay… brute force won't work, since his fighting style looks much more defense oriented, so what if…' If force wasn't going to win this for her, then her brains would.

Crane watched with a scrutinizing eye as she charged him in much the same way, her torso twisting in preparation to swing her tail at him ice more. Seeing this, he pushed off the dirt at the last second, knowing that her long train of feathers would pass harmlessly under him, giving him another chance to attack.

At least, that's what would have happened, if Robin wasn't expecting him to do that. With a sudden change in momentum, she dug her talons into the ground and threw her body into a powerful backflip, which sent her feet right into Crane's chin, knocking him off balance and sending him backwards onto the ground a couple feet away. Pushing the offensive, as soon as her feet touched the ground again she dashed as fast as she could at her opponent, jumping into a roundhouse kick that collided with Crane's beak, sending him spinning backwards in a daze. He quickly recovered though, holding the spot he had been hit with a surprised look on his face.

"Woaaah-ho-ho-ho! That. Was. _Awesome_!" Po cheered, pumping a chubby fist in the air. "I _gotta _learn how to use flips when I fight!"

Monkey was grinning smugly at Mantis, who was looking very grumpy for some reason. "Hey, she landed a hit buddy! You know what that means…" He said, poking the bug's side.

Mantis groaned in frustration, swatting his friend's hand away. "Ah, I get it, alright? I'll have the yuan tomorrow,"

Chrom's brow furrowed. "Were you two betting on my wife?"

The two kung fu masters froze. "Uh-er, w-well, that's… possibly?" Mantis said nervously, forgetting that he was the subject of their bet's husband.

The prince's haze was harder than steel, his eyes blazing with hidden anger. The two jokers waited in fear for the inevitable fury-driven yelling match they were about to be handed, before Chrom burst out laughing at their absolutely horrified faces. "Don't worry, I jest! Naga, your faces were priceless! Honestly, I didn't expect her to get the first hit off, either," he said, still chuckling to himself as he turned back to the fight.

Mantis and Monkey let out a huge sigh of relief, extremely grateful they didn't get on their new teammate's bad side on the first day of meeting him. "Remind me to never pull a prank on Robin in front of him…" Monkey whispered to his friend, jabbing a thumb at Chrom.

Shifu nodded approvingly when she landed the first blow of the fight. It wasn't often that his new apprentices could hold their own against the Five, let alone land a hit. Most of them quit after they had finished sparring, actually. Of course, her form needed work, and her attacks were slightly clumsy, but the speed and power she possessed was quite surprising considering her frame.

Robin panted, extremely glad that her reckless plan had worked. She wasn't entirely used to unarmed combat yet, but she was sure that with some training she could easily become a great fighter. Crane rubbed the spot he was hit, looking dazed, before he turned to his opponent with an approving smile. "That was pretty good! Wasn't expecting you to change directions so quickly," he praised.

Robin gratefully accepted his praised, nodding with a smile. "Thank you, Crane, though I'm sure I have much to learn."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that right now," he said, tilting his head slightly, "This is just about showing us what you can do. You're offense is pretty good, but how about defense?"

Robin blinked in confusion. "Huh? Def-"

She was cut off when Crane suddenly went on the attack, jumping in the air and zooming towards her with a powerful thrust of his wings. Robin yelled out in shock and quickly ducked out of the way of a flying kick, and was forced into rolling out of the way when he followed up by slamming his claw into the ground where she had once been, kicking up a small cloud of dirt. He didn't relent for one second, kicking and striking with his wings. It wasn't often that Crane used a more offensive style during combat, but his kicks were quite devastating. Robin was finding it harder and harder to dodge the endless flurry of kicks, and even then she was still getting nicked by his talons every now and then.

She barely twisted out of the way of another strong roundhouse, only to see his foot flying straight at her face. Acting almost entirely on instinct at this point, she threw up her fan of feathers, hoping that would disorient him long enough so she could get an attack in. Unfortunately for her, while it did disorient him it was only for a split second. Seeing an opportunity to end this, Crane brought his wings back and threw them forward, sending a powerful gust of wind at her. Since her tail was still fanned out, it caught the strong breeze and made her stumble back, leaving her wide open. Crane didn't waste this chance, shooting forward and slamming his foot right where her ribs were.

Robin yelled out in pain and tumbled to the dirt floor, panting heavily from the adrenaline and exhaustion. Her side ached, and from the small shot of pain she felt every time she took a breath she was sure her ribs were bruised in some capacity.

"Robin!" Chrom called worriedly, quickly jumping to his feet and rushing to her aid before any of them could stop him. He kneeled by his wife's side, carefully helping her to her feet. She groaned in discomfort at how her side aches when she twisted it too far. "Are you alright?"

Robin smiled lovingly at him, glad she had someone in her life that truly cared for her wellbeing. "I'm fine, Chrom… just took a big hit there," she assured, nursing her side tenderly. She forgot just how much sparring actually _hurt _sometimes.

"Sorry about that, Robin. Maybe I went a little hard there," Crane apologized, smiling guiltily.

She shook her head. "No worries, Crane. Thank you for the match. It seems I still have much yet to learn."

"Well done, you two. Crane, your form was a little off after you took that hit, but otherwise it was great." Shifu praised as he walked over, using the staff to support himself with each step. "And for your first sparring match against one of the master's, that was a good effort, Robin."

Crane put his wings together and bowed deeply in respect, which Robin copied to the best of her ability. "Thank you, Master Shifu."

The old master nodded in acknowledgment before he turned to Chrom, who was still supporting Robin by her side as a stabilizer. "I hope you are ready for your turn, Chrom."

He glanced worriedly at his wife, who was making her way over to the sidelines where the others were, Po doing a very enthusiastic recap of every cool move she made while the Five praised her for efforts (sans Tigress, of course). "I… think so, yes. Who am I fighting?" He asked, massaging his sleeveless shoulder in preparation.

Shifu smirked for a split second. "Tigress!" He called back to the small group. "You're up next!"

Tigress nodded coldly as she stepped forward, showing no emotion other than anger. Chrom felt his heart drop into his stomach when she stood across the field, staring with unbridled anger right into his soul. He swallowed nervously. "Uh… is that the best idea, Master Shifu?"

"Having second thoughts, are we?" He said, his eyes shining with hidden mirth. "There's no shame in quitting, you know. I can see why you would be getting cold feet now…"

'...Is he challenging me?' Chrom thought, his brow furrowing slightly as he glanced between Shifu and Tigress. It was no secret among the Shepherds that he was very competitive, especially when it came to spars or the drinking contests they would have every now and then.

He sighed heavily, knowing he was going to regret this later. 'No healing staves here…' "Alright, Master Shifu… let's get this over with." He muttered.

Shifu smiled. "Excellent. Remember, no weapons," he reminded the wolf, pointing his staff at Falchion.

Chrom nodded in confirmation, smoothly unsheathing Falchion. The metal sang as he spun it a couple times in one hand before plunging the tip of the blade into the ground, the metal easily sinking into the dirt below. The spectators marveled at the craftsmanship of the blade, no easily discernible faults in the metal at all.

"I've never seen a sword like that before…" Viper whispered, her glowing blue eyes fixated on Falchion's sleek design. It was very unique when it came to how the swords in China were built, since it seemed more for thrusting and such instead of slashing attacks.

"What's that hole in the middle for?" Mantis pointed out, looking at the teardrop shaped imprint in the hilt.

"It's more for design than anything," Robin explained, sitting down beside the five students with a grunt. "But Chrom has found a way to implement it into battle. He can catch his foe's weapon in the middle of the hole, and use it to quickly disarm them."

"Woah, really?" Po whispered back, "I've gotta see that for real now!"

Back on the field, Chrom cracked his knuckles and got into a fighting stance, his legs spread wide and his paws held level with his chest. "Let's have a good fight, alright Tigress?" He called to his opponent, hoping that she wouldn't try for lethal force in a friendly spar.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and her pupils were turned to slits. Her knees were bent and she held one paw in front of her, the other held behind her and above her head. "I am ready." She said coldly, void of any emotion besides determination to win.

'Okay… you've handled Robin when she's mad at you, Chrom, this is nothing.' He told himself, trying to get psyched up so he wouldn't be served a humiliating loss.

Just like before, Shifu raised a small hand and snapped his fingers, the noise sounding even sharper this time around. Unlike last time, however, there wasn't only one person charging across the dirt. Both Tigress and Chrom exploded into action, their steps kicking up huge clouds of dust. As they neared each other, they both reared their fists back, and they collided in the center of the makeshift arena, their fists impacting each other with a powerful _smack_.

Inwardly, Tigress grinned. She expected Chrom to instantly clutch his paw in pain, since her arms were rock hard to the point where she didn't feel anything. Her eyes widened somewhat in surprise when that _didn't _occur like she had planned. Instead, Chrom continued his assault, slapping her fist out of the way and rushing in for a body blow, his cape waving behind him. She barely had time to get over her shock and twist out of the way, his fist passing right by his intended target. She scowled before jumping back, now understanding she was going to have to take this a bit more seriously than she thought.

With a low, guttural growl, she leapt at Chrom with her paw clenched in fury, aiming a hammer fist directly for his muzzle. Seeing imminent danger, Chrom flipped out of the way just in the nick of time, Tigress's paw slamming into the ground where he had just been standing. A small crater was left where she had struck, further adding to Chrom's increasing nervousness. 'Gods, it's like she's trying to kill me!' He thought worriedly.

She didn't let up after that attack, either, leaping to her feet and throwing punch after punch at Chrom, who was blocking and dodging to the best of his ability. When they got home, he would have to thank Frederick and Vaike for showing him how to fight unarmed, because he would probably have many broken bones right now if not for them. Tigress's punches may seem wild and untamed, but Chrom could feel the raw power that was behind them. They were meticulously aimed at any spots he left unguarded, and it was almost a never ending flurry of orange fur. He grunted as he blocked another palm strike from the tiger, his arms already sore from the force behind her every move. 'I need to find an opening, and fast… I don't know how much longer I can keep up like this,' He thought, desperately looking for any sort of small thing he could take advantage of.

That small thing came in the form of Tigress going for a low sweeping kick to try and catch him off guard. Seeing an opportunity, Chrom jumped away from the kick, then rushed right back with a shoulder bash, his heavy pauldron slamming into her side and knocking her back a few feet. She grunted in pain, instinctively holding her side. That was all Chrom needed to set up what many considered to be his signature move; Aether. Hopping backwards, he gave a steely glare before jumping high into the air, his newly strengthened legs making it nearly effortless for him. Then, with a roar of defiance, he tucked into a tight roll and shot downwards, the air rushing around him and his cape whirling wildly behind him as he fell.

The speed behind Chrom's attack was intimidating, but Tigress was a trained and practiced warrior. She had seen more intimidating things. Her legs tensed in anticipation as her opponent grew closer and closer, her eyes following his rapid movement. Time seemed to slow down when Chrom was merely inches away from striking Tigress with the heel of his foot, hoping to end this in one clean hit. Tigress, however, had other plans. In the blink of an eye she had moved three feet to the right, letting Chrom's powerful Aether slam into the ground below, passing by its intended target harmlessly. Large cracks in the packed dirt spread from where his heel struck, and his cape whipped around behind him from the force behind the attack.

Tigress decided that she'd had enough. Now that her opponent was wide open, she rushed forward and thrust her open palm into the wolf's side, making him stumble backwards, before she followed up with a spinning hammer fist right into the side of his head. The spectators winced when her fist collided with Chrom's skull, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Robin immediately stood in worry, but refrained from running out to help just yet.

Chrom groaned in pain from his position on the ground, slowly getting to his knees. His chest was heaving from the adrenaline and the hit he took, the side of his head throbbing. Tigress watched him carefully, somewhat surprised by the strength he exerted during their fight. It wasn't often she encountered a foe strong enough to go toe-to-toe with her in close combat, much less meet her punches with ease. Nevertheless, his form was unrefined and sloppy, and his plan of attack seemed almost entirely improvised.

He clumsily clambered to his feet, still clutching the side of his head where her fist had impacted his skull. "Ugh… That's gonna hurt for a while," he muttered, a little lightheaded from the battle. He glanced over to Tigress, who was still in a fighting position. He chuckled lightly, reminded of his retainer. "I yield, Tigress. You throw one hell of a punch," he complimented, walking over to her.

She stood there for a moment before dropping her aggressive stance, crossing her arms over her chest. There was still a touch of anger and suspicion in her eyes as she looked him over, but it had lessened considerably. "You are stronger than I gave you credit for, but you need to refine your form considerably before you even come close to the standards we have here." She criticized harshly.

Chrom nodded in agreement, knowing that he was more of a 'hit it til it dies' than a planning kind of guy. "Yeah, I can see that. I definitely have much more to learn until I'm up to your level. It was a good fight," he said, holding out his paw as a sign of respect.

Tigress glanced down at his outstretched hand for a moment, before she gave him one last scrutinizing look and stalked off, leaving his paw hanging there. He sighed, his hopes of proving to her that he meant no harm dashed. It always left a bad taste in his mouth when he made one of his comrades upset, so he tried to be friendly with everyone.

His thoughts were interrupted when Robin placed a worried wing on his uncovered shoulder. "Are you alright? You took quite the hit there," she asked, her eyes lingering on the part of his face he was currently covering with his paw.

He laughed off her worry, however, not wanting to show weakness. "I'm fine, Robin. Just need to sleep it off and I'll be good as new." He assured her, ruffling the top of her head. The crest on the top of her head crumpled under his paw, and her feathers were surprisingly soft to the touch.

She sputtered in indignation, quickly slapping his paw away. "Hey, just because your a foot taller than me now doesn't mean you get to treat me like Lissa!" She scowled, although her eyes were dancing with hidden laughter.

"Chrom!" Po called to the wolf as he bounded over, his hands shaking with excitement. "What was that move you used in the middle there!? That was like some super-spinny-jump attack!" He asked quickly, demonstrating the 'spinny' part by spinning his paw around.

"Yeah, how did you even spin that fast on your way down? Doesn't even seem possible…" Crane questioned further as he walked up to the two, somewhat impressed by Chrom's display of raw strength. It wasn't everyday somebody blocked Tigress's punches like they were nothing.

"That was my own personal technique, called Aether," he explained as he plucked Falchion from the ground and sheathed it with a satisfying _click_, "It took many years of practice to perfect, but it's quite powerful. As for the spinning, It's easier with a sword in hand since it acts as a weight, but it's almost entirely upper body strength."

"Wow… you're stronger than you look," Viper complimented, slithering up to the gathering group. Mantis was beside her as well, hopping over and standing on top of Crane's conical hat.

"Yeah, you both were pretty good. I can't wait to see you guys in action against actual bad guys," he said, "And don't worry about Tigress, this is just how she is."

They both smiled in appreciation. "Thank you, Mantis. I'm rather looking forward to getting out onto the field myself," said Chrom. He was beginning to miss being on the battlefield with the Shepherds.

"Yeah-ha! I wanna see what you can do with that fancy sword of yours…" Po paused for a moment. "What was it called again?"

"...Falchion. It's called Falchion."

"Falchion! Right, right," Po chuckled sheepishly.

"Excellent work, you two. You'll fit in nicely to our training," Shifu praised. He had been watching their fighting styles very carefully during both of their matches, and he could see potential to become masters of kung fu in both of them. The raw strength that Chrom possessed was astounding, he just needed to hone and control it, and Robin's decision making and decisive strikes were executed with excellent precision. Her defensive maneuvers needed work, though, as did her strength.

They bowed in respect to their new teacher, glad they had made a good first impression. Chrom grunted in discomfort when his side flared up in pain, though he quickly hid his momentary flash of weakness. "Thank you, Master Shifu." They said graciously.

"We'll begin your real training tomorrow. I suggest you get some rest tonight, since you both seem a little… worse for wear." He instructed, noting their ragged breathing and how Chrom was still nursing his cheek.

"Ah, that reminds me, where will we be staying while we're here?" Robin asked.

Shifu looked to Viper, who bowed as soon as his eyes were on her. "Viper, please show them around the Palace and to their rooms. They'll be in the same hall as the rest of you," he ordered, pointing with his staff between the two parties.

"Yes, Master Shifu," she said.

"Po," he began.

"I know, I know, cooking duty?" Po interrupted, already knowing exactly what Shifu wanted from him.

Shifu smirked. "If you know already, then get to it, panda."

Po saluted with his right paw, a wide smile stretched across his muzzle. "You got it, Master Shifu! You guys are in for a treat," he pointed at Chrom and Robin before he walked off, presumably to the dining hall.

Shifu watched him go, chuckling softly to himself. "As for the rest of you," he addressed the rest of his students he hasn't given a task to, "The day is yours. Do with it as you please."

The three bowed in respect, as was customary before they went their separate ways, Mantis hopping from Crane's hat to Monkey's shoulder. Crane flew off into the increasingly darkening sky, the bright blues almost entirely replaced with a colorful mixture of purples and reds. When the three remaining students glanced over to where Shifu was, he was gone, leaving nothing in his tracks.

Robin snorted in amusement. "Some colorful characters here, huh? Kinda reminds me of home," she said nostalgically, remembering the first time she had entered the Shepherds main base of operations. Now _those _were some wildly different personalities. Honestly, she was still confused with how easy it was to pair off everybody into different couples.

"You can say that again… how did it he do that?" Chrom wondered aloud, staring at the spot Shifu had once been. He didn't even make a noise when he moved. Just how fast was the old master?

Viper rolled her eyes at her master's antics. Even if he was one of the most influential kung fu masters in China, he still sometimes acted like a child. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Shifu likes confusing new people.

"What I would worry about is how you're feeling right now. Are you two alright? You both got hit pretty hard back there," she said, concern evident in her tone.

Chrom smiled at her worry. She sounded like Lissa after every single battle they had. "We'll both live, Viper. Thank you for your concern."

"...Alright, but if you feel any worse, then I'll get Mantis to do some acupuncture. Trust me, it does _wonders _for pain," she said, adding the last part after seeing their confused faces when she said 'acupuncture'.

"I'll take your word for it. How about we get this show on the road, then?" Robin said, adjusting the sleeves of her coat and dusting it off. It was one of the only things she had on her when she first woke up in Ylisse, so she made sure to treat it with respect.

"Of course! You two are going to love it here, I just know it," She said, slithering over to the large archway entrance of what appeared to be a training hall.

"I hope she's right," Chrom muttered to his wife, still thinking about how Tigress just brushed him off like that.

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too. I don't know why, but I get the feeling we're gonna be here for a while…"

"Really?" Chrom said, his brow raising in curiosity. It wasn't often she got these intuitions about upcoming events or plans, and when she did she was usually right. "What makes you say that?"

There was a beat of silence, the soft breeze filling both of their ears. "...Call it a tactician's sixth sense."

"... I don't really like the sound of that."

Robin's vivacious laughter that followed his statement almost convinced him that everything was going to work out and find a way back home.

_Almost._

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**Chapter 4 is done and done. I really hope that the pacing isn't too slow, but just in case things will be speeding up in the next couple chapters. Expect the next chapter to be finished within a month if I'm lazy, or a couple weeks if I work fast.**

**As always, please leave me a review if you liked/didn't like it. It really does motivate me to keep writing, and it helps improve said writing. I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**

**Peace out, gamers.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Guess who's alive? Surprisingly, me.**

**First off, I want to offer my most sincere apologies for the extremely long wait. Life went super crazy while I was gone. I got into an accident, college finals, the new semester starting up, I got a new job… y'know, just a ton of stuff that distracted me from writing. Another thing that kept me was, unfortunately, a bout of lacking motivation. Thankfully, that is beginning to finally wane a bit.**

**Secondly, I want to thank my readers for sticking it out long enough for me to get off my lazy ass and finish up this chapter. I'm quite happy with it, even if it took me waaaaay too long to finish, and the story is finally beginning to get up and going now.**

**I'm sure you're all tired of hearing me ramble about all the different excuses I have as to why this took so long, so please enjoy.**

**Also Byleth's in Smash HAAAAAAAAAA**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda or Fire Emblem in any way.**

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Chapter 5

Adjustments and Bonding

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To call the Jade Palace slightly different than Castle Ylisse was like saying that Regna Ferox was a little nippy during the winter. It was a _massive _understatement. From the rooms that Viper had showed them and the many statues that were scattered around the grounds, this place was like an entirely different planet when compared to their original home.

Of course, they actually _were _in a different dimension, so that made total sense.

Viper had first showed them to the training hall, which was only a couple feet away from where they had sparred against the Five. It was definitely the most unique take on a training hall that they had ever seen, to say the least. Wooden paneling circled all around the edges of the hall, the architecture crafted in a way that drew your eyes to the center of the room. The top of the hall was completely removed, allowing the natural light of the sunset to filter through and warm the wooden walls. Weapon racks were set up around the room as well, different kinds of spears, axes, and swords leaned neatly on the wood.

Let's go back to the center of the room, however, because that is where the most interesting part of the hall was. If Robin thought that the normal training back in Ylisse was difficult, the contraptions set up in the center stepped that up five times. The first part had wooden beams that were carved like the texture of scales, and spiraled across to the other side. From what she could tell, the beams were hooked up to some sort of contraption that spun them around at a rapid rate, most likely to help train balance and agility. If that wasn't bad enough, when she looked upward she saw some sort of wooden club-like objects with iron spikes on the back hooked up to some sort of chain. 'Did they lower during training hours or something?' She had wondered.

Speaking of the ceiling, further down the hall there were some wooden rings also hanging from chains, with some talons of iron spiking outwards. She couldn't figure out how they were going to incorporate those. Underneath the rings was a large green bowl that had four small platforms placed symmetrically around the rim. She guessed that they would have to balance on the rim of the bowl-like object. Further down the hall were some wooden cylinders that were absolutely _littered _with tiny iron spikes, each one with long wooden arms that also had many spikes. 'Those definitely look like they hurt…' She had mused when she first saw them.

Her favorite part of their tour of the training hall, however, was when Chrom had asked what the floor full of holes at the very end was supposed to do.

"Oh, that's the Field of Fiery Death, my personal favorite." Viper answered nonchalantly, saying it like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Chrom's eyes widened considerably. "Did you s-say 'Field of Fiery _Death_'? As in, you could die on there?"

"What? Oh, no no no! Of course not," Viper quickly fixed, shaking her head rapidly. "The fire isn't hot enough to do any serious harm, just a little burn at most."

Chrom didn't look any more appeased by her answer, staring nervously at the metal contraption.

"I'm guessing fire shoots up from the floor, or something to that effect?" Robin questioned, noting that each hole had the slightest wisp of smoke rising softly and dissipating into the air.

"That's right," Viper nodded, "You should've seen Po the first time he went through this course! It was awful… I still feel bad about how we treated him back then,"

'She sounds like a worried mother,' Robin mused, though she wondered what she meant by 'back then'.

"Was Po not accepted by the Five when he first got here?" She questioned, wanting to get to know her new comrades-in-arms.

Viper nodded sadly, her eyes misting over as if recalling a rather unpleasant memory. "Yeah… he kind of just showed up out of nowhere and was proclaimed the 'Dragon Warrior' with no prior training in Kung Fu, and the others didn't really respect him for that. I tried to act nice to him from the beginning, and the others came around to him eventually, but I could tell he was hurt…" She explained, her tail drooping in melancholy.

"Well, it seems like it turned out alright to me. Looks like you six are good friends now," Chrom pointed out.

Viper nodded in agreement, though it seemed half-hearted. "Yeah… I just wish we weren't so harsh on him at first. Tigress, especially…"

Chrom snorted. "You can say that again… didn't think it was possible for someone to have that much hate."

"She doesn't _hate _you two, she's just very protective of the Palace. It is her first and only home, after all," said Viper.

Robin wanted to know what she meant by first and only, but decided that she would get that story from Tigress herself when she was ready to trust them. "I understand her feelings, but I hope that we can eventually get past past that."

Viper smiled warmly at the two, her blue eyes somehow looking motherly even with the glow they emitted. "Don't worry, she'll come around eventually. Now, let's keep going. Hopefully we can be done before Po is finished with dinner."

After their talk in the training room, they moved on towards their quarters, passing by more strange statues and gardens. One in particular caught Robin's attention, mostly because of how much bigger it was compared to the other statues around the grounds.

"Who's this? Must be important to get a statue this big," Robin asked, pointing at the large stone sculpture of a wizened old tortoise, holding the same gnarled staff that Shifu has been holding the last time they saw him. She remembered seeing a similar figure on the painting above the staff in the Hall of Warriors, standing on a cliff side in front of some sort of tree.

Viper abruptly stopped moving ahead and whipped around to stare at them with her mouth slightly agape, eyes wide with shock. "You don't know who Master Oogway is?" She asked incredulously, like she hadn't believed that was possible.

"Uh, no. We're not exactly from around here, remember?" Chrom reminded the snake, knowing she was in the room when they had told Shifu about the whole 'other world' scenario.

Viper blinked. "O-oh, right. Sorry, it's just a little… unbelievable." She told them, looking apologetic.

"You're fine, Viper. It's unbelievable to us, too, and we're the ones from another world," Robin assured the snake, shrugging with indifference. She didn't expect complete trust straight from the beginning.

The Kung fu Master smiled warmly, glad that they understood. "Well, Master Oogway is the one who created Kung Fu. He's the whole reason why we're here, and why this Palace even exists at all. Master Oogway was Master Shifu's mentor, actually, and the Jade Palace was built in Oogway's honor after he created Kung Fu." She explained, recalling what Shifu had told them of Master Oogway and what she had learned so far from the thousand scrolls of kung fu. She had always looked up to the old tortoise, especially since he was the one to see so much potential in her in the first place.

"Really?" Chrom said, his eyebrow raising in intrigue. He eyed the statue with a newfound respect. "He must've been a good man."

"Yeah… He was," Viper softly agreed, staring at the statue with a nostalgic respect. "Even if he was a bit crazy at times, he was very wise, and there wasn't a single person in all of China who could match him in battle."

Robin had doubts about how powerful this Oogway truly was, but what she had learned over the course of her journey was that sometimes the most inconspicuous people could be the most formidable.

Their small introduction to the palace had continued onward from there, passing by more foreign trees and other small buildings they didn't bother to go into. The red sun was beginning to fully dip below the horizon now, swathing the skies in a purplish haze. The air was beginning to chill as well, making Robin wish she had placed a warming enchantment on her coat while they were back in Ylisse.

Their quarters were located in a building that was off on the other side of the palace. The walls were unique in the fact that they seemed to be made out of paper, which greatly confused them both at first, but they quickly grew to like the strange design choice. The rooms themselves were quite bare, but that was probably to keep the student's focus on training. When she had asked why their two rooms seemed kind of empty, Viper said that was because they were expected to bring any personal belongings or furniture besides a bed themselves. It seemed a little harsh to her, but she understood why this was the case. All in all, the rooms weren't awful. They definitely were not the worst conditions they had slept in by a long shot, and it had a sort of homey feel to it.

"It's pretty nice, right?" Viper initiated, wanting to get their opinions on it.

Robin nodded curtly, lookin around her new room in interest. She had never seen such unique architecture before, and the paper walls added this sort of mystical feel to it from the natural light emanating into its expanse. Chrom seemed happy with his new living arrangements as well, glancing around his own room from the opposite side of the hall with a small smile. "It's great, Viper. Thanks again for showing us around."

"It's no problem! Just trying to help you two feel more comfortable," she said, "I know it must be intimidating, being in a whole new place like this."

Robin stifled a snort of amusement, folding her wings across her chest. 'You have no idea…' she mused.

Chrom didn't go through the trouble of suppressing his laughter though, chuckling to himself at the statement. "Well, it's been a _big _adjustment, but we're doing well enough. Most of the people have been very welcoming so far, and I've still got my love by my side," He said warmly before pulling her into a one-armed hug, rubbing the top of her head with his paw.

Robin sighed in indignation, though she didn't make any moves to remove his hand from her head. "You are such a massive doofus sometimes, you know that?" She teased playfully, before she lifted his paw off of her skull, the feathers sticking up in odd angles. Her cheeks were dusted a light pink, accentuating her pure white feathers in the moonlight filtering through the paper walls.

"Yes, I know, but that's only because I have someone so smart to compare to," He complimented, gently grasping her soft wings in his paws. Robin's blush passed into 'red' territory, no longer a gentle pink. Sometimes she forgot just how loving Chrom could be.

Viper watched the scene unfold quietly. She remembered that they said they were indeed married, but it was absolutely _adorable _to her how in love they were. It made her long for someone to hold her like that, her mind drifting as she stared.

Robin inwardly noticed the snake's stare, though she didn't voice any questions. That look was something that she would have to wait to talk about. 'It's the same look that Cordelia would give me and Chrom before she married Stahl…'

Their tender moment was swiftly interrupted by the sound of flapping wings and the padding of clawed feet. The three looked to the source of the noise just as Crane rounded the corner, his hat slightly lopsided from his short flight here. "Oh, here you guys are." He said, stopping in his tracks. His eyes shifted ever so slightly towards Viper and brightened, but it was quickly hidden under his hat.

"Hello, Crane. Is something the matter?" Viper asked politely, swiveling her thin body to face her teammate. Robin noticed that the longing hidden in her gaze that she saw while her and Chrom were having their little moment had not gone away, it was just directed at a different source. The inner matchmaker in Robin's personality smirked. 'I see what's going on here…'

"No, just wanted to tell you that Po's done with dinner. Are you still giving them the tour?" Crane relayed, glancing over to the couple with a friendly smile.

Viper shook her head. "This was our last stop. Thanks Crane, we'll meet you there."

The bird gave a small salute before he turns and jumps into the air, the sound of his wings pumping through the air fading into the distance. Viper sighed, though for what reason was unknown. "C'mon, let's head over to the kitchen. You're gonna _love _Po's cooking, trust me," she said, sounding excited at the prospect of eating Po's food.

Chrom nodded. "Lead the way, Viper."

* * *

"Hey, there's the two newbies!" Mantis exclaimed as the trio entered the kitchen, glancing up from his own bowl of steaming noodles that he could use as a bathtub if he so desired.

Chrom greeted the five warriors with a friendly wave, liking the homey atmosphere the room exuded. The Furious Five (sans Viper) were all seated around a wooden table, eating a mixture of different foods. The most common dish appeared to be a steaming bowl of noodles, though Tigress was eating just a few small cubes of some white substance. An orange glow enveloped the room from a few lanterns placed here and there, giving it a warm look. The only thing that they noticed was off was that Shifu wasn't present, though they suspected that he dined on his own. "Hello everyone! Sorry we're late." said Chrom, moving to the table to pull up a chair next to Tigress and Monkey. Robin followed his example, sitting across from him and next to Crane, who looked awfully unusual without his iconic hat.

"Oh, hey guys! Here, lemme get you some food," Po offered as he jumped up from his seat and quickly plodded over to a large simmering pot. With expert-like precision and efficiency, he grabbed three glass bowls and dipped the ladle into the pot simultaneously, and with a single swift motion he poured the perfect amount of noodles and broth into their containers. "Three secret ingredient soups, comin' right up!" He said as he placed the bowls in front of their respective owners.

Chrom smiled and breathed in the delicious scent of the meal. "Ah… thank you, Po. This smells fantastic," he thanked before picking up his intricately designed spoon and began to dig in, his hunger from the day's excitement now very evident.

Robin chuckled at her husband's table manners. While he was required to show good etiquette during important meetings over meals, it was when he was around people that didn't care about his status that he truly let loose. "Thank you for the meal, Po."

The panda waved them off, already finishing up with his own bowl. "Ah, it was nothing," he assured, before turning to them with a curious glint in his eyes. "So how'd you like the Palace? I bet you thought it was awesome."

Robin chuckled after she swallowed a spoonful of broth. "That's one way to put it, yes. It's absolutely beautiful here, and Viper was very helpful." She praised the snake, making her green scales become a soft pink from embarrassment.

"You're too kind, Robin. You two would have figured it out yourselves," she insisted.

"Even so, I appreciate the hospitality from all of you. I hope we can become good friends in the future," Robin said to the table, glancing over to Tigress who was trying to ignore the commotion by focusing on her food.

Monkey set down his own bowl of noodles after taking a deep swig from the golden broth, a couple droplets hanging from his fur. "Nice to have some new faces around here! Hope you two have a sense of humor," he quickly glanced over to Tigress when he said that.

Chrom smirked. "Don't worry, we don't _monkey _around when it comes to jokes."

The whole table abruptly stopped eating and cringed at the Exalt's awful pun. Robin was especially disappointed, holding her head in her wings, and even Tigress broke her stoic facade to cringe.

"What? I thought that was pretty good," Chrom said when he saw everyone's reaction, chuckling under his breath at his own joke.

"Honey…" Robin muttered through her wings, sounding like a disappointed mother. "I think you and I should have a good talk on what humor is."

Chrom gaped in disbelief that his attempt at humor had flopped horribly. "C'mon, really? Was it that bad?"

The seven other people sitting at the table nodded almost immediately.

"Yeah."

"It was pretty bad."

"Maybe you should stick with fighting…"

The wolf sat silent for a brief moment before he scowled and hunched over, mumbling under his breath. He jabbed his spoon violently into his bowl, taking an angry bite of the noodles. "No fun at all…" he mumbled with his mouth full of broth.

Crane chuckled at his new teammates actions, already knowing that things were going to be much more interesting with these two around. "So you guys are married, right? How'd you two meet?" He asked, trying to get to know them a little better.

Mantis perked up in interest. "Ooh, I wanna know, too. I don't think I've ever seen a peacock and a wolf as a couple," he said, leaning over his bowl in anticipation.

"I bet you guys met each other fighting some giant monster, right?" Po asked them as if that was the most obvious scenario possible.

Robin chuckled at the Panda's overactive imagination. "Unfortunately, we didn't have to fight some ancient deity to come across each other. Actually, the real way we met was almost just as strange, wasn't it?" She directed the question at her husband, who was still silently sulking.

"Hm? Oh, yeah… now that you mention it, it was kind of strange," he agreed, thinking back to the day he had first met the woman who would become the grandmaster of Ylisse. He could remember every detail about that fateful day.

Of course, Robin would argue that there was no such thing as fate, but considering the circumstances he was going to give one point to fate's side this time.

Mantis smiled eagerly during their short conversation. "Oh, now you've _gotta _tell us how you met. You can't just say something like that and expect us to not want to hear the story!" He said, hopping off of his small perch and onto the table itself. The rest of the Five also seemed to be listening intently, and Robin was fairly certain Tigress was too, she was just better at hiding it.

Robin looked over to Chrom, knowing he would do a better job of explaining the events leading up to their first meeting. "Well, I was part of a small Militia group called 'the Shepherds' back home. We normally did patrols around the border or through the small towns, and that day was one of the former," he began the story, his eyes wandering upwards as he recalled that day.

Crane's eyebrow piqued in curiosity. "A militia group? No wonder you two know how to fight, then."

Chrom nodded. "Yes, fighting is a part of life for me. It's gotten to the point where I actually feel more comfortable with Falchion in my hand than without it," he patted the sword on his hip for emphasis.

Robin rolled her eyes playfully. "That's an understatement. I'm pretty sure you're up to ten times now where you've gone to bed with it still strapped to your waist," she teased, making the rest of the table's guests laugh boisterously, all at the expense of one suddenly flustered wolf. Tigress smirked in amusement, but it was quickly hidden by her taking another bite of her small meal.

"I-is that _true?_" Monkey managed to ask in between laughs, holding his stomach with his free hand.

Chrom rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his embarrassed blush bleeding through the fur on his cheeks. "Yes… she is correct. I can be very forgetful every now and then, unfortunately." He admitted.

Mantis snickered. "Hope you don't forget to pull-"

"_Mantis!_" Viper hissed almost immediately, cutting off the joke he was about to make. She was glaring daggers at the small bug, knowing exactly where his mind was going to go.

"What? It's sound advice," he argued back, but the obvious mischievous smirk on his face gave away his true feelings. Monkey was hiding his giggling face behind his hands, and even Crane seemed to be amused by his teammate's unfinished joke. Tigress looked just as angry as Viper, however, and Po just looked clueless. Chrom was trying and failing to hide his own mirthful laughs, and Robin was trying to decide if she found the joke funny or awful.

"What's so funny?" Po asked innocently, in the middle of taking another gulp of noodles.

Viper's eyes widened, almost forgetting the large panda was even here. "Oh, it's nothing Po! You don't need to worry about it right now," she told him, her voice returning to its motherly tone.

He eyed the table suspiciously for a beat, a tense silence filling the air as they tried to control their giggles/glares. Eventually, Po shrugged indifferently, accepting Viper's answer. "Alright then," he said before returning to his noodles with vigor, forgetting the joke was even said. Viper sighed in relief, glad she wasn't going to have to explain such a vulgar attempt at humor.

Robin cleared her throat so she could stop the table's incessant giggling. Even if she had lost her memory, she knew enough to know what Mantis was about to refer to. "Now, as you were _saying,_ Chrom…" she said, wanting to continue past this before Tigress had any more reason to be furious with the two of them.

"R-right, my apologies," he quickly stopped his own laughs, getting back to his story. "As I was saying, that day my militia and I were patrolling through some of the small towns around Ylisse. Our next stop was a decently sized settlement called 'Southtown'. Not the most imaginative name, in my opinion, but they're a valuable source of crops.

On the way there, I spotted someone lying face up in the middle of the road, clearly unconscious. It took a minute, but we eventually got her awake. That person… was Robin." He said, his eyes filled with a warm nostalgia.

"Wait, you found her unconscious?" Monkey paused once again in his meal, starting to get pulled into Chrom's story. "How'd that happen?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. Neither does Robin, actually." He said.

Viper blinked in confusion. "She doesn't, either? How is that possible?" The rest of the table seemed equally confused. Even Tigress had taken a break from pretending they didn't exist, looking them in the eye for the first time that night.

Robin decided to answer this one herself, seeing as it was probably the most unbelievable part of their story. "Well, when Chrom woke me up, I had lost all of my memories. I had nothing to my name besides… well, my name, and this coat." She explained, lifting the side of her precious tactician's coat slightly.

The six listener's responses were expected, to say the least.

"_What?!_" The table exclaimed all at once, not expecting amnesia to play any part in this story.

"You lost your memories? That must've been awful!" Viper said sympathetically, her brow creased in pity. She treasured the memories she has made in the Palace, and she didn't know what she would do if she woke up one day and everything that she had once known was completely gone save for her name.

Po gaped at the peacock, trying to comprehend how she even had survived such an obstacle in her path. "You forgot _everything? _Man, I don't know what I would do if I forgot everything about kung fu!" He exclaimed, shivering in fear at the very thought of such a disaster.

The rest of the Five offered their various exclamations of disbelief and condolences for what Robin had gone through, but Tigress was eyeing her suspiciously, not entirely buying her story just yet. While they were formidable warriors for someone with no proper training, they had a long ways to go before she could trust them. There was a small part of her that felt sympathy for Robin's past, however, but she suppressed that notion before it showed itself.

Robin softly smiled as she recalled her first few days with the prince of Ylisse. It was a frightening time, trying to recall moments of her past while fighting off bandits and Risen alike, but it was also a time she would cherish forever. "It wasn't so bad, actually. Sure, I don't know anything about my past, but now I can make new memories. I wouldn't give up the times I've had with Chrom for anything."

Chrom smiled warmly at his wife's words, happy to hear she truly did love her time with him. "As would I, my love. I'm glad I found you that day." He said, staring lovingly at the peacock. Even though she was in a different form, she was still the beautiful person he loved.

They stared deeply into each others eyes, lost in their orbs of emotion. That is, until Mantis cleared his throat, breaking them from their love induced trance. "Not to be rude or anything, but you should probably eat your food before Po gets to it, Robin." He pointed at the still nearly full bowl of noodles, which said panda was throwing hungry glances at every now and then.

Po quickly realized that Mantis had pointed out his not-so-subtle actions. "_Whaaat_? No, I wasn't, I was just… admiring my good work on the noodles, y'know? Gotta make sure it's good enough for her!"

Robin chuckled, lightly shaking her head at his antics. "Well, Po, there's no need to worry because they're delicious," she said while scooping up a heaping spoonful of the limp pasta and scooping it into her beak, savoring the delightful flavor.

"Ah, that's good! Yeah… glad you like it," he said, staring solemnly down at his own empty bowl. He had made his own normal portion of noodles that they usually ate most nights, but he had forgotten that there were now two more mouths to feed, leaving him with only a couple of bowls to polish off instead of the usual four. He sighed. "I should've made more…"

The table laughed boisterously at his personal plight, including Tigress who chuckled lightly. Even Po couldn't help but laugh along with his friends, his attitude too optimistic for him to stay down for too long.

* * *

The rest of the night had gone quite well for the new friends. Talking and laughing amongst themselves over the dinner table, they finally felt at home with this strange new place.

"You know… maybe things won't be so bad here," Chrom whispered to Robin as they walked to their own respective rooms, careful not to wake anyone. Shifu had talked with them for a little while longer after the rest of the trainees had gone to bed, instructing them about their morning rituals and the morning gong.

The peacock nodded in agreement, her small crest of feathers atop her head bobbing with the small movement. "Yeah. I just hope we can find a way home soon. I like this place, but… it's not _home_."

Chrom sighed, also feeling slightly homesick. He had enjoyed most of his time here with Robin thus far, but he had to agree with his wife. It wasn't Ylisse, and it never would be. "I'm sure we'll find someway soon. Hopefully, Shifu finds something on the Outrealm Gates, and we can make our way home."

"I hope you're right…" Robin said, sounding nervous and pessimistic.

The prince frowned, not liking when his wife worried too much about the little things. He loved her bright smile every time she had it in her face… Er, _beak_, and it was a shame that she was always so worried about something so he almost never got to see it, especially during wartime.

Robin yipped in surprise when her husband suddenly pulled her into a firm, but loving hug, his strong arms carefully wrapped around her thinner frame. "Don't worry, my love. We'll find a way back." Chrom whispered into her ear, assuring her that everything will be alright.

Robin was silent for a moment before she released a heavy sigh. "...I know. It's… just my job to be worried, you know?" She whispered back, sounding more relaxed already in the arms of her lover. No matter how much of a giant dork he was sometimes, he always found some way to comfort her.

Chrom chuckled and held their loving embrace for a moment longer before letting her go, eyes shining with mirth. "And you do a fantastic job at that, Robin. But please, for now let's just worry about being good students, and I think first we should get some sleep," he said, nodding back to the open entrance of his room, "We've got a big day tomorrow, after all."

The peacock tactician smiled warmly, before she gave him one final peck on his furry cheek. "You're right about that. We should get up bright and early for some early warm ups," she suggested, tracing his furry jawline as she walked through the doorway to her room, her long train of feathers slinking along the ground before disappearing behind the paper wall. She peeked around the corner one last time to shoot her husband a smile, her cheeks dusted with pink. "Goodnight, love."

Chrom waved a hand goodnight as she slowly shut the door to her room with a satisfying click, leaving the wolf as the only occupants of the hallway. He sighed softly to himself, letting the air fill his lungs before turning on his heel and slipping into his own room, eager to get some much needed rest after such an eventful day.

* * *

The loud sound of a gong crashing filled the hallway, the ear-splitting noise resounding off the walls of the student's designated sleeping area. The sudden shifting of many bodies could be heard almost immediately afterwards, before five of the doors suddenly swung open at roughly the same time, revealing the Furious Five, ready to start the day.

Shifu eyed them all with a scrutinizing gaze, his observant orbs tracing over their rigid forms, watching for any sign of weakness or fidgeting as they all intoned at the same time; "Good morning, Master."

He lips slowly turned upward into a slight smile of approval, which quickly upturned itself into a disappointed frown when Po abruptly burst his own door open, clearly late for the morning roll call. The red panda watched with a half amused, half bewildered stare as he stood there, catching his breath for a moment, before standing back up and clearing his throat awkwardly. "Uh, g-good morning, Master Shifu! I was just, uh, in the middle of getting some stretches done, y'know? Gotta warm up the bod!"

Shifu responded by giving his student a deadpan glare. "That was faster than the last few times, Po, but that is still considered _late_."

The panda's faux-confidence quickly faded. "Right, right, I gotcha, Master…"

"I should hope you do." Shifu gained a mischievous smirk. "Perhaps I should give you some encouragement. Maybe, Tigress should be assigned with waking you up each morning…?"

Po's eyes widened immensely and quickly glanced over to Tigress, who had crossed her powerful arms while smiling at him, and back to Shifu. Fear was extremely evident on his face. "U-Uh, n-no, that won't be necessary! I'll, uh, start getting up on time!" He quickly said, wanting to save himself from whatever cruel tactics his teammate would use to rustle him from his slumber.

Shifu nodded with approval, that smirk never leaving his face as he looked across his gathered students. "Alright, now that you are all awake…" His voice trailed off when he glanced down the hall and noticed that the doors to the rooms he had assigned to his newest students were wide open, but with nobody in sight. He walked over to the doorframes leading into the rooms, and was quite confused to see them empty.

"...Where are the peacock and the wolf?"

* * *

"Hraaaagh!"

"Rgh! Rrrragh!"

The sound of clanging steel rang out across the training grounds as two swords collided, the metal vibrating from the sheer force behind the attacks. The two duelists leapt away and separated, each of them panting heavily as heads of sweat rolled down their necks and faces.

Chrom smiled as he rested a paw on the pommel of Falchion, the tip of the blade sinking easily into the dirt under his feet. His attire was slightly disturbed from the sparring session he was currently partaking in, but his grin was stretched from ear to ear. "It's been too long since we've sparred, Robin!" He called across the arena.

"I'll say… sometimes I forget how _strong_ you are!" She replied, wiping her forehead with her wing while loosely waving her silver blade beside her. Her Levin sword remained nice and snug up her sleeve, since the electrified blade would defeat the purpose of their little spar. Since they were so used to getting up early for battles and whatnot, it wasn't too hard to get themselves up early enough to warm up for the day ahead.

Her husband chuckled, taking his paw off of Falchion to cross his arms in front of him. "And yet you still manage to match me blow for blow! I'm very impressed and proud of how far you've come, Robin."

The tactician blushed and rubbed the back of her long, thin neck sheepishly. Even with the amount she got, she still wasn't used to the praise she received. "You flatter me, love… It's only thanks to you that I've gotten this far in the first place!"

"Even so, not many can match the Exalt of Ylisse in battle after only handling a sword for a couple years. Most have handled a blade for their entire lives, and haven't even come close to your level!" He furthered his compliments, wanting to make sure she truly understood how amazing she was.

If Robin was blushing before, she certainly looked as red as a cherry now. It was quite a contrast to her stark white feathers, now that Chrom could see it clearly out in the sunlight. "You say you're not that good with tactics, and yet here you are perfectly lowering my guard… I'd say you've gotten pretty far yourself." She replied back, sinking her own blade into the packed dirt below with a flick of her feathery wing.

Chrom chuckled and walked up to his wife, patting her shoulder with a burly paw. "I think it's safe to say we make each other better." He said, smiling down at her with a loving smile.

Robin smiled back, the feeling of his paw upon her shoulder giving the peacock a sensation of safety and comfort. "Speaking of better… why don't we try our hand at having a weaponless spar? That's what our training entails, after all." She suggested, lightly nudging Chrom on the side.

"I think that's a great idea. Would be good to give my knuckles a warm up!" He said, nodding in agreement. With that, he went to stand by his sword planted into the dirt, before turning and facing his wife with a friendly yet determined smile. "You ready, Robin?"

The peacock smirked back, stretching her wings out in front of her while her long tail slowly fanned itself out behind her, making her look much bigger and intimidating than she really did. The strange, six-eyed marking imprinted onto her train only furthered that illusion. "You already know the answer to that."

The pair stared at each other from across the training grounds, their eyes scanning each other for movements or weaknesses. It was quite obvious that they were skilled in their craft.

Robin's tail twitched slightly, and Chrom instinctively burst out of the stalemate, bellowing out a war cry as he charged at her. The tactician watched with an eagle eye as he approached, getting into a defensive stance to prepare for whatever he may throw her way. Chrom quickly closed the distance between them, planting his paw deep into the ground and throwing a heavy right hook at her neck, being careful to not hurt her too badly. He wouldn't have to worry about that, however, as Robin quickly ducked out of the way and transferred her momentum into a spin kick, clipping her talons into the wolf's knee. Chrom yelled out in surprise as his leg suddenly buckled from her quick strike, falling to the ground with a thud. Seeing that she had the advantage, the peacock pressed the attack, spinning back to face Chrom while trying to slam her other talon into his back. Chrom had always been much faster than he looks, however, quickly rolling out of the way of her flying foot while righting himself back onto his paws.

Once again, they were at a stalemate, staring each other down while slowly circling around one another. Robin smirked slightly, inwardly glad that she had gotten the first hit off. After all, a losing opponent was a desperate opponent. Chrom, however, knew that she had some sort of plan in mind, so he was playing it cool for now. He waited for just a moment longer, before rushing at her once more, right up at her face in the blink of an eye. Robin tried to anticipate the left hook he had wound up for, but that was merely a distraction, the wolf quickly tucking in his arm and bashing her with his shoulder, catching her completely off guard and leaving her wide open. He followed up with a back hand hammer fist, sending her sprawling back onto her knee.

Chrom winced to himself. Maybe he had hit her a little too hard there. "S-Sorry about that, Robin… I didn't mean for you to get hu-" He was suddenly cut off when Robin took advantage of his sudden weakness, charging at him and hitting him on the side of his ribs with a wing, making him grunt and instinctively hold his side, which in turn left him wide open for the kick the peacock threw his way, quickly turning the tables and sending the wolf to the ground in the blink of an eye. Chrom groaned as he lay there in a heap, slowly getting into a sitting position.

"First rule of any fight, love…" Robin said, dusting her coat off a bit as she smiled victoriously down at her husband. "Never let your guard down."

Chrom shot her a playful glare as he got back to his feet. "I should've known the best tactician in the entirety of Ylisse would use every trick in the book to win."

The peacock chuckled to herself, slipping the silver blade back into her sleeve after flicking it clean of any dirt. "Almost predictable, is it not?"

The Exalt went to reply, but was cut off by a familiar voice shouting out to the two of them from the entrance to the training grounds. "Here you two are! Why were you not at the morning roll call?!" Shifu's authoritative voice cut through the air like a flaming hot knife, making the pair quickly swivel their necks to stare at him as he marched over. His brow was furrowed with anger, and his lips were curled in a frown.

"Ah, good morning, Master Shifu…" Robin replied calmly, noting that the other students were filing their way into the training grounds after the red panda. Tigress was back to staring at them with the fury of a thousand suns, putting more stock into the phrase 'if looks could kill'. "Chrom and I were just getting a quick spar in before out training began. A warm up, if you will."

Chrom nodded as he slid Falchion out of the dirt and into its fitted sheath, bowing to the other students as a sign of greeting and respect, just as he had learned to do in these past couple days. "It was as Robin said. Apologies for not informing you, Master Shifu."

Shifu stared at them for a beat, his scrutinizing gaze washing over them like a cold shower, before he relented and sighed tiredly. "I am not against getting in some early warm ups, but please inform me the next time you decide to do so." He said to them with finality.

"Of course, our apologies." Robin said respectfully back, bowing down low.

"Good morning, you two. It's not often we see someone get up earlier than Tigress." Viper said as she slithered to stand next to them, followed by Monkey and Mantis, along with Crane. Tigress stood a ways away, not wanting to associate herself with the newcomers she distrusted so plainly.

"Looks like you were going at it, too." Mantis pointed out, noting the deep scuffs in the dirt, along with their tussled clothing.

Chrom nodded and smiled at his new teammates, rubbing the top of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, figured we should get some warm ups in… it's been some time since our last bout of actual training."

"Hah… Hey guys, I'm… here…" Po said, panting to himself as he stepped up the last stone stair to the training grounds. It looked like he had gone on a small detour if the crumbs around his mouth were anything to go by.

Shifu sighed to himself as the panda finally joined them. He had been wondering where he wandered off to for a second there… "Po, please refrain from sneaking off to eat. This is the eleventh time you've done that in the past _month_." He said firmly.

Po huffed as he joined his fellow students, bowing to his master with a slouched expression on his face. "Sorry, Master Shifu… it just takes a bit more than three square meals a day to fuel a Dragon Warrior…"

"It takes more like six…" Monkey whispered to Mantis, who chuckled alongside his fellow prankster.

The wizened red panda simply gave Po a deadpan stare, before grumbling to himself. "Moving on… Now that we have gathered everyone, I believe we can begin today's training. Since we have two new students, I will be assigning a couple of you to help them. Tigress…" The strongest of the Five perked up as he name was called. "You will be staying with Po today, and I will be overlooking it."

Tigress closed her eyes and bowed. "Yes, Master."

Shifu continued. "Viper, Crane! You will begin Chrom and Robin's training respectively. I trust you will be able to handle that." The pair bowed in an almost mirror-like fashion, obviously having done the motion many, many times before.

"Mantis, Monkey." He turned to the last two students, who had already gotten into a bowing motion. "You will continue with your regular training."

"Yes, Master Shifu." They intoned, staying bent down until he was finished speaking.

"Haha, alright! Let's get this show on the road, Master Tigress!" Po exclaimed excitedly, pumping his fist and smirking confidently. Tigress said nothing, simply rolling her eyes and turning towards the training hall. "Try not to destroy anything this time, Po."

The panda blanched at Tigress's words. "Hey, c'mon, I'm gonna be super extra careful! Maybe you guys should fortify this place to handle my awesomeness!"

Shifu simply smirked at his two students, following behind them with the large gnarled staff in hand.

Robin watched with an amused smile as they went, here wings folded in front of her. "He certainly doesn't lack confidence…" She said.

"You've got that right… I don't know how he stays so optimistic." Crane said as he stalked over, his long legs stepping lightly on the dirt floor.

Chrom had just finished adjusting his gear after his sparring match, mainly his pauldron after performing that shoulder bash. "So, shall we get started?" He said to Viper, loosening up his shoulders a bit.

The snake nodded, her forked tongue slipping in and out of her mouth every now and then. "Sure thing! I was watching your spar with Tigress yesterday, and you've got a ton of power, but you need to learn how to control and pinpoint that strength. I was thinking we could…" Her voice trailed off as they wandered to a different part of the Palace, Chrom listening intently to the cold-blooded warrior as he soaked in every word.

Robin watched them leave with a smile. She was starting to like this place more and more. "Perhaps this will prove more beneficial than I first thought…" She said to no one in particular. She was a tad skeptical that they would be able to learn anything from these students, since they were already war-hardened fighters, but they were much more formidable than she had expected.

Her inner musings were cut short when Crane cleared his throat, catching her attention. "Uh, let's head into the training hall. I want to work on your defensive stance to start you off." He said, eliciting a nod from her. "Right then, lead the way."

It looks like their time at the Palace has just begun.

* * *

"Boss! Boooooss!"

Droll, the leader of the Coyote Gang, panted and huffed as he dashed into the main camp of his superior. He was but one of many that worked for the formidable wolf Lang, who also was a subordinate of the mysterious Lord Shen. None of them besides Lang and those closest to him had seen the ruler, and Droll didn't fall into that category at all. He was just trying to make ends meet.

When he woke up today, he never expected that these two unknown warriors would show up out of nowhere and completely destroy his men in battle. It looked like they had barely put any effort into kicking their asses at all!

Which is why he had escaped, leaving them behind. He needed to tell Lang about this new development, so he could warn Lord Shen, or at the very least be more prepared. He was drawing all sorts of stares as he barrelled through the camp, yelling for his superior, but he could care less. Right now, he needed to spread the word of what happened.

"Boss! Boss, I've got news!" He cried as he burst through the leader's tent. The boss wolf looked over at Droll's frantic movements, his brow furrowing with confusion. "News? What kind of news? Where are your men?"

"That's the thing!" He began, shaking as he began to ramble. "These two foreigners, they came out of nowhere and brushed us away like grains of rice! It was like they weren't even trying!"

"Wait, what? Foreigners?" Lang's eyes widened slightly. Two unknown warriors, coming out of nowhere and defeating a force four times their numbers with ease? Granted, he hadn't sent the best he had with Droll, but that was still worrying. The unknown had the advantage, after all. "What did they look like?"

Droll swallowed nervously. "W-Well, one was a wolf that wielded the strangest sword I've ever seen, and the other was a white peacock, that had some sort of witchcraft, it was the strangest and most terrifying thing!"

"Wait wait, what? Did you say a white peacock?" Now that had Lang's attention.

The coyote nodded emphatically. "Yes! Yes, she was like death itself with how she fought."

Lang was silent for a moment, his muzzle agape slightly, before he righted himself. "I've got to tell Shen."

* * *

**There we are, finally the fifth chapter is done. I hope it was worth the wait, and you can expect the sixth chapter hopefully soon…**

**If I don't adapt JonTron's uploading schedule and disappear for a year, that is.**

**Peace out, gamers.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh… my Gods. Talk about writer's block hitting from every gosh darn angle.**

**I am so so so sorry about the wait on this latest chapter. It should've come out way sooner since I basically had half of it typed up a month ago but for some reason I could never find the motivation to finish it. Thankfully, I was able to get off my butt once more and rouse the will to finish up this chapter. Hopefully it was worth the wait. I finally get to introduce another major part of this story in this chapter, which I am happy about, and the next chapter will get some action with Chrom, Robin, and the Five.**

**Anyway, that's enough out of me. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter in Inner Peace: an Exalted Tale.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Familiarity

* * *

7 days after the Exalt's disappearance

* * *

"Any word on the Exalt's whereabouts yet?"

"I bet it was Plegia that did this, those bastards…"

"I can't believe it… Do you think anyone will help us?"

Those were the types of conversations one would hear if they were to walk through the bustling streets of Ylisse, fear and doubt shrouding across the city like a fog. It has been exactly a week since word got out that the new Exalt Chrom and his wife, Robin, had gone missing without a trace. As expected, panic and fear soon followed. Without the crown prince and the grandmaster tactician, Ylisse was left without some major firepower. Thankfully, they seemed to be entering a peaceful era, what with Gangrel dead and Ferox as trusted allies, but that did nothing to quell the slowly growing doubt and unease that was spreading through the populace. Due to the royal lineage, Lissa was crowned Exalt for the time being, but many had their doubts on how she would perform due to her young age and distraught emotions. Until the location of the two missing persons was discovered, however, it would have to do, and not a single soul knew exactly where they could be.

Nobody, except for a hooded figure making their way through the crowd, their head completely covered by the brown cloth.

Lucina kept her head down as she pushed her way through the large group of pedestrians meandering through the streets, trying her hardest to keep her face and hair hidden. She didn't know how the people around her would react to her hair color, not to mention the brand emblazoned in her eye. No, she couldn't afford to be slowed down now, not after making such extensive preparations for the trip she was going to be thrusting herself into. The large knapsack slung over her shoulder was bulging with all sorts of necessities, since she didn't exactly know how long she would be gone. She needed to be as ready as possible.

When she heard that her father and mother had gone missing, she didn't react how one would think she would. As soon as she learned of this development, she had gotten right on to preparing herself for the next phase of her plan to keep her parents and the future safe. It had taken a bit longer than she had liked, scrounging up enough money to get what she needed, but now she felt comfortable leaving Ylisse and getting to where she was needed next… China.

Her determined movements abruptly stopped when she spotted the merchant cart she was looking for, along with a familiar red head of hair. She frowned slightly. She never really did like talking with Anna.

"Thank you for shopping, do come again!" Anna giggled to herself as she waved off her most recent customer, looking at the pouch of gold she had acquired for herself with a hungry gleam in her eyes. "I've been getting more desperate customers than ever…"

Her greedy musings were cut short when another potential customer stepped up to the counter in the corner of her vision, making her smirk slightly. 'It's like moths to a flame…'

"Welcome to Anna's Emporium! How can I help you?" The merchant greeted in a sugary sweet voice as she turned to face whoever it was, always making sure to turn up the charm and smile to ensure that her customers felt comfortable giving her more money.

Anna was a tad surprised when this person turned out to be someone who she was fairly certain had never shopped at one of her little stores… Marth. Her smile didn't fade, but that hungry gleam did slightly. 'Great… She's not gonna give me much money, if that stuffed pack she's carrying is any indication…'

"Marth"'s stoic visage gazed into Anna's eyes, almost as if she were daring her to blink. "Hello, Anna… I was wondering if I could purchase something from you." She said, her voice not betraying any emotion.

Anna gave her a smirk, resting her hands on her hips. "Well, you came to the right place then! What can I get you, then? A new mask, some blade polish?" She listed off, trying to suggest and upsell her as much as she could. "Maybe even some of my special elixir?"

"No thank you, Anna. I'm here for something else today." 'Marth' replied, raising one of her gloved hands to get her to stop talking for a second. "I'm here for a gate."

Anna's eyes flashed with a hidden surprise, but it was hidden beneath her carefully practiced persona of friendliness. These two women were both very skilled in hiding their emotions. "A gate, you say? I'm not entirely sure what it is you're talking about, hun."

'Marth' bit back a growl, her hand clenching by her side. "You know what I mean. The _Outrealm_." She reiterated. "Don't try and dodge the subject."

For a brief second, she could've sworn she saw Anna frown, although it was expertly hidden away once more. "C'mon, Princess, those things aren't for sale, m'kay? They're incredibly volatile if you don't know how they work…" The merchant said dismissively.

There was a small bout of quiet between the two, 'Marth's eyes shooting daggers into Anna's own nonchalant gaze. Neither woman moved during this silence, until 'Marth' slowly reached into the flap of her pack. Anna's gaze followed the bluenette's hand carefully, making sure that she wasn't going to try anything funny.

'Marth' nearly cracked a smile as Anna's eyes lit up at the sight of the pure gold bar she procured, setting it down with a heavy _thunk_ onto the counter. That was one of the main reasons it took her so long to get prepared, bullions were not easy to find. "I'm sure everything has a price, Miss Anna." She said.

Anna's gaze glanced up at her, then back down to the gold. 'Marth' thought that had been enough to appease her, but the smirk that plastered itself across the red head's face said otherwise. "Marth, honey, that's nothing more than some pocket change to the thing you want. Unless you've got some real gold, then I can't give you anything." She said with a smile, crossing her arms over her chest.

That tone quickly shifted when 'Marth' sat down two more gold bars to sit next to the original one, nearly identical in every way. Anna's smile quickly turned into a surprised expression. Never before has she ever had someone pay an entire large bullion for a single item. Of course, she's never had anyone try to buy an Outrealm Gate from her either. "...You're really serious about getting this, aren't you?"

'Marth' nodded firmly, a determined fire in her eyes that spoke volumes about what she intended to do. "Yes, I am."

Anna was silent for a moment, staring down at the large amount of money that has been presented to her. Then she sighed, reaching over a small chest, swiftly unlocking it with an ornate looking key. She pulled a small stone archway from inside, glancing over to 'Marth' and setting it down in front of her. "Alright, thank you for the business… just don't come blaming me when you get sent to some apocalyptic world."

'Marth' almost snorted as she pocketed the gate. "Trust me, I'll be fine."

* * *

Lucina sighed as she exited the gates to Ylisstol, her hand firmly wrapped around the small gateway in her hand. She wasn't one to get emotional, since controlling her feelings was crucial on the field of battle, but something was welling up inside of her chest… a mixture of joy and sadness. On one hand, it's been much too long since she's been to the place that she considered a second home, the place where she was trained to incorporate kung fu into her graceful sword fighting. A soft smile graced her features as she recalled all the wonderful memories that she made during her time in the Jade Palace, pushing herself every day to become a great fighter like her mother, father, and mentor. She missed Po's wonderful cooking, missed Shifu's tough yet caring teaching style… and now she was coming back home.

Her nostalgic smile quivered a bit and curved into a sad frown. On the other hand… she couldn't go to see the ones she missed. The flow of time couldn't be disrupted more than it already was… she was only going to ensure that all of her family was safe. No matter how much it pained her to do so, she had to for the sake of everyone's future. It was already worrying how many times she's nearly slipped up in front of her parents… she didn't know how long she could fool someone like Tigress.

"Mentor…" She breathed, happy and painful memories returning to the forefront of her mind. "It's been much too long… I won't fail you this time."

The rest of her walk continued in silence, until she was a good ways away from the city. She tried not to let her thoughts wander too much, but it was near impossible with what she was about to do. The hand wrapped around the stony gate was trembling with anticipation, easily giving away the warrior's true emotions. She was fearful, excited, sad, happy, all at once… but she couldn't show weakness, not now after she's done so much already. She may not have been able to save Aunt Emmeryn or Aunt Sumia… but she wasn't going to fail anymore.

She nodded once she was satisfied with the location she found herself in, a barren clearing that had no signs of life. Her royal blue eyes glanced down at the archway in her hand, sighing to herself before placing it down on the grassy floor. She backed up a couple feet as the strange magical item began to glow, getting brighter until there was a brilliant flash of light, forcing Lucina to shield her eyes. 'Gods… I forgot just how bright these damn things are…'

She waited a couple moments before deeming it safe to lower her arms, and she was happy to see that where there was once nothing at all, a gleaming gateway had appeared, a shimmering portal sitting inside of it. The familiar light bathed over her pale skin, making a soft smile worm it's way onto her face. Through the fear and all the other emotions stirring inside of her like a bubbling pot of feelings, one stood prevalent now, one that she was starting to feel more and more often nowadays… hope.

"Father, mother… I'll keep you safe."

That was the last thing she said before dashing through the portal, leaving behind not a single trace that she was even there.

* * *

Far away from the Valley of Peace, over the giant chasm that the Thread of Hope strung its way across, the sound of raucous laughter could be heard booming from under the canopy of a jungle-like forest, alongside the clinking of glasses and the occasional disruptive clang of steel. The reach of the Council of Kung Fu was great, but there was the occasional bandit base that slipped through the cracks, thriving under the shadow that the Council's mighty light provided. This, while not one of the biggest, was one of them. Criminals leisurely walked about the various tents and stolen merchant carts, each of them carrying some sort of weapon in hand to remind any who trespassed the danger they had found themselves in. Currently, it seemed like a few of the bandits were having a drinking party, sitting around a table with mugs in their claws or paws.

"And then I said, Kung fu? More like Kung full of _shit_!" A gator with a scar going over his eye proclaimed loudly, making his mates burst out into loud, uncontrollable laughter. Drops of alcohol stained the wood of the table from how careless they were being with their drinks, too busy drinking to really pay attention to any mess they were causing.

"Hahaaaa, you and your stories, Gnarl! I never get tired of em!" A wolf to the gator's right said with a toothy grin, giving his scaly friend a rough pat on the back.

Gnarl grinned back, his slitted eyes glowing with malice. "There's plenty more where that came from!" He went to take a swig from his crude mug, but was sorely disappointed to find that he had drained every last drop down his throat. He frowned, glancing down his cup with a small snarl. "... Doesn't seem like there's plenty more booze, though. Hey, wolfy!"

The fox sitting across from him glanced up at Gnarl, frowning angrily. "For the last fuckin time, Gnarl, I'm a damn fox, and my name's Reed!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure…" Gnarl waved off the fox, only making the red furred man angrier. "Just go get some more beer, will ya? Maybe some nice gin!" He basically ordered Reed, pointing over to the supply tent where they kept food and drinks.

Reed simply stared at Gnarl with a nasty snarl on his muzzle, before roughly standing up and pushing himself away from the table. "Fine… fuckin asshole…" He muttered as he made his way over to the tent, trying to ignore the table laughing once again at one of Gnarl's tales.

It was fairly dark out at this time of the night, but thankfully his eyes were able to see pretty clearly in situations like this. Unfortunately, that made him the go to guy for running errands in the dark. "Stupid gator, can't even get off his fat ass to get his own damn beer…" He muttered as he whipped open the entrance to the tent, searching for whatever kind of alcoholic beverages he could find.

His search was abruptly cut short before he could even do anything, however, by A very loud thud just outside of the tent, and a groaning sound that definitely didn't sound like any of the people he knew around here. His paw instinctively went to the hilt of the curved dagger he kept on his hip, forgetting about the alcohol for a second to slowly exit the tent and move around it. "Who's there? I'm warning ya, you picked the wrong damn fox to mess with today!"

He expected to find a peasant from one of the local villagers cowering in fear when he turned the corner, or maybe even some weirdo who was trying to play hero. Who he actually found, however, made his jaw fall agape slightly.

Standing and brushing off her armored tunic and cape was a wolf, her dark navy blue fur shimmering in the moonlight above, while her cape and feather-like hair slowly flowed in the wind. Her legs were clad in some sort of armored boots, as well as a pair of leggings that was a great compliment to her color scheme. He almost missed the sword that was sitting carefully in its sheath, but it was most definitely there, sitting innocently as if it didn't look incredibly dangerous and sharp.

He couldn't help but find this strange wolf… _very _attractive.

"U-Uh… who are you, lady?" He asked with a confused and curious tone. He inwardly knew that this was probably a very bad idea, but his brain has already thrown logic out the window.

The wolfess glanced over at him with a sharp, scrutinizing gaze, giving him a chance to stare into her eyes. They were incredibly pretty, perfectly unmarred orbs of a deep cobalt blue, almost glowing in the soft light. "Pardon me for asking, but is this the Valley of Peace?" She asked Reed, completely disregarding his first question.

The grip on his dagger tightened at the mention of the Valley of Peace. Such a goody-two-shoes place… he would probably throw up in his mouth if he even saw a picture of it. "What?! No! You hit your head or something?"

The wolfess sighed slightly. "I see… then I suppose you wouldn't have a map I could use?"

"A map? You lost, lady?" Reed asked, inwardly smiling that such a beautiful wolf lady fell right into his paws. "Well, I could definitely getcha a map… just gotta follow me, hehehe…" He chuckled darkly.

If he was paying attention to her at all while he was talking, he might've noticed a small smirk stretch the very corner of her muzzle. "Sorry, but the only place I'll be following you to is straight to the authorities."

Reed blinked, suddenly freezing in place. "... Wait, wha-"

That was all he was able to utter before a flying hammer fist smashed directly into the side of his face, sending him sprawling to the floor and straight into a deep sleep.

Lucina sighed as she stared down at the crook she had just bashed, her brow furrowed slightly as she shook her paw off a little. "Of course I fall straight into a bandit camp as soon as I arrive… I'm out of practice…" Normally, she would have fallen outside of the Valley of Peace, effectively saving her any sort of long journey. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case here.

"Hey, the hell's takin' you so long, Wolfy?!" Her musings were cut short by a rough voice that was directed at the tent she was currently standing behind. She quickly held a paw on the hilt of her sword, glancing back as she saw a light slowly getting closer. Her gaze hardened and she inhaled deeply, calming her mind and letting the sound of the wind fill her sensitive ears. If she was out of practice, then she'd just have to remind herself that she was the youngest of the masters, trained by Master Tigress herself.

The bandits wouldn't know what hit them.

* * *

The Following Day

* * *

"Agh!" Chrom yelled out sharply in pain as Monkey's bo staff collided with the side of his abdomen for what seemed like the millionth time to the exalt-turned-wolf, resulting in him falling off of the slim wooden pedestal and onto the dirt floor of the training grounds with a thud. His fur was matted with a combination of sweat and dust, and his attire was quite disheveled after doing this exercise for hours. He groaned from his impromptu position on the floor, slowly pushing himself onto his knees.

"That was better! You lasted a couple seconds more that time around!" Monkey said with approval, resting the butt of his staff on the ground as he watched Chrom slowly get back up. It's been a few days since Chrom and Robin were welcomed as students to the halls of the Jade Palace, and their training has been going rather smoothly so far. It's been a big change for the two, going from basically king and queen inside of a lavish castle to a pair of humble students slowly but surely learning the art of Kung fu, but it was not unwelcome. It was actually rather peaceful and fun at times.

Unfortunately for Chrom, he was not having too much fun at the moment.

"How are you so fast with that thing…?" He asked the master, groaning as he slowly stood and arched his back a little. To call their training tiring was putting it lightly. Apparently, learning kung fu took a ton of hard work, training to their limits with a different master each day. So far, Viper trained him in controlling his strength, which he didn't go terribly good at, considering he didn't know just how strong he was from time to time. Crane started training him on reflecting all sorts of projectiles without a weapon, since most of their opponents will try to fight dirty. Mantis, since he was such a small and fast target, helped Chrom with his precision and accuracy, which definitely could be a problem for him in battle. The only masters that he hasn't trained with yet were Tigress and Shifu, and he didn't expect to train with either of them for quite some time. Today, his trainer was Master Monkey, who was making him stand on one paw on top of a slim wooden beam while he swung with his bo staff at him, am exercise to help his balance while defending from attacks.

All in all, Frederick would be very proud of the regime provided here.

Monkey shrugged and hopped over to check if his trainee was doing alright. "Practice? I've been here for a while."

"Really?" Chrom said, waving Monkey off to show that he was fine. "How did you start training in kung fu?"

Monkey scratched his head. "It's… kind of a long story."

"We've got time, I don't mind listening if you want to talk." Chrom replied, wanting to get to know his new subordinates. If there was one thing he's learned from being the commander of a small militia, it was that relationships were key to working together efficiently.

"... Sure, why not?" Monkey relented, shrugging again while smiling. "It all started when I was younger. Back in my village, I was the prankster. I'd go around playing pranks and humiliating people by pulling their pants down, stuff like that."

Chrom listened intently as he brushed off his armor and clothing. He chuckled slightly to himself. "I've known a few pranksters in my time. My wife may not seem like it, but she's a master of setting up those kind of things."

"Really now?" Monkey said with interest, smiling mischievously to himself. "Good to know! Anyways, it got to the point where all the villagers wanted me out, and started sending all sorts of warriors to try and kick me out of the village. I managed to beat all of them by humiliating them in front of all the people, and I got quite a bit of reputation…"

"Wow…" Chrom muttered, his brow raising with surprise. "I didn't expect such a thing from a master like yourself…"

Monkey chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck while his tail curled behind him. "Yeah, I wasn't the best person, heh… but that's in the past now."

Chrom nodded, crossing his arms over his chest while he listened. "So how did you change your ways?" He asked, interested in how he went from a delinquent to a respected kung fu master.

Monkey's eyes went slightly misty, as if recalling a fond time in his life. "After a while, they really got tired of me, and Master Oogway showed up to try and stop me." He explained, smiling to himself.

"Master Oogway… he was the turtle, right?" Chrom asked, recalling the massive statue of said turtle that Viper had shown them during their tour.

His trainer nodded. "Yep, that's the one. I was all cocky after beating all of those other strong warriors, I thought I could beat him no sweat! Oogway, though… he showed me wrong, and beat me."

"So… what did he do? Did you get kicked out?" Chrom asked, leaning over while resting one of his arms on the wooden pole he had been practicing on.

"Nope. Master Oogway showed me kindness instead, showing me the error of my ways. It was the first time someone was nice to me instead of chasing me down or telling me off… and so I decided to change my ways, and become a protector of my village." Said Monkey, looking nostalgic as he spoke.

Chrom nodded slowly as he listened, soaking in the story that the master was telling. "Wow… that's quite the origin story. I would've liked to meet Oogway. He sounds like a great man."

"He was. Only Po is as accepting as he was." Monkey chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

Chrom laughed alongside the master. He hasn't known Po for very long, but he could see where Monkey was coming from. "I think that's enough reminiscing for now… shall we get back to it?" He said, hopping back on top of the wooden pedestal with an eager smile.

Monkey smiled back with an equal amount of passion and a slight hint of mischief. "Alright, let's see how long you'll last this time around."

* * *

"Breathe in…"

The peacock took in a deep breath of fresh air, a slight sweetness filling her lungs as it was carried by the cool breeze.

There was a beat of silence.

"And… breathe out…"

Robin followed the instructions given to her by her trainer perfectly, letting the air bubble in her lungs slowly filter out of her beak with a soft sigh. Her muscles loosened as she sat on the grass, letting the aura of the surrounding area fill her with a calm peacefulness.

Her tail twitched slightly.

"Breathe in…"

She repeated the process, thoughts starting to fill her always rampant mind. She wondered what was for dinner that night, she wondered if Shifu had found anything on the Outrealm gates yet, she wondered how Chrom was faring in his own training.

The feathers on her head twitched.

"Breathe out…"

Her brow furrowed as she tried to slowly and calmly breathe out, although it slowly turned into a frustrated groan as her eyelids opened and her concentration shattered. "Gods… how do you stay so calm, Viper?" She asked, turning to the snake who was hanging perfectly still from a particularly thick branch on a tree nearby.

The cold blooded master gave her a sympathetic smile, slowly uncoiling onto the grassy floor beneath her. "It comes with time, Robin. Most take quite some time to master the art of meditating… take Po, for instance!"

Robin chuckled, rubbing the back of her feathery neck. "I suppose he is rather excitable…"

"But… you aren't. So why are you having so much trouble…?" Viper questioned, as if trying to solve a difficult puzzle.

"Well… it's just my job to always be thinking or worried. It's proving quite hard to move out of that mindset…" She explained, her long tail ever so slightly swaying behind her.

Viper gave her a curious look. "Your job? What did you do before coming here?" She asked, her forked tongue flicking out of her mouth occasionally.

"Remember when Chrom said we were a part of a militia group back home?" Robin asked, eliciting a nod from Viper. "I was the head tactician of that group. It was my job to make sure none of us got injured in any of the battles we fought, and to keep track of the soldiers outside of battle." She explained, reminiscing of all the stressful and work filled times, especially during wars. It was a wonder she hasn't collapsed on the battlefield yet…

"Wow… that's quite the position to have…" Viper said with surprise, not expecting the peacock to have such a high ranking position.

Robin chuckled. "You're telling me! Sometimes I feel more like a babysitter than anything…"

They both shared a good laugh at that. "So, what did you do before coming here to learn kung fu?" Robin asked.

Viper smiles sheepishly, looking almost embarrassed. "Well, my position was nowhere near as important as yours… I was just a simple ribbon dancer."

"A ribbon dancer?" Robin asked, looking curiously at the snake with a quirked brow. "One of my friends is a dancer."

"Really?" Viper said with a tinge of surprise. "Huh, what a coincidence…"

The peacock smiled as she thought of the shy pinkette, fondly remembering the times they spent together. "Yes, her name is Olivia. She's quite shy, but her dancing is beautiful."

Viper smiled at her trainee. "I was quite shy when I started out as well, but I grew to love the art."

"How did you go from that to a fighter of your caliber?" Robin asked curiously.

"Well… back in my village, I was born without my fangs, which meant I was unfit for becoming a warrior." She explained, her long tail swishing behind her.

"But… you have fangs now. Doesn't that mean you're once again qualified?" Robin questioned, noting the fangs protruding out of the snake's upper lip.

Viper shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, since mine grew in late, they don't carry any venom. They're more or less just for show."

Robin frowned slightly. "That's… unfortunate. To have one of your main defenses stripped at birth… it must have been difficult." She said, comparing it to how she woke up with no memories at all when Chrom found her.

"It was hard, yes…" Viper nodded. "But I managed to become a ribbon dancer instead, so it worked out in the end."

Robin's frown turned into a soft smile. "I'd say so. You're quite the successful warrior."

Viper smiled bashfully and nodded at the peacock. "Thank you for the kind words, Robin. I'm sure that with time, you'll be able to best anyone." She told her trainee, slowly slithering back up onto the branch she was coiled around.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, but that won't become a reality unless I learn to relax for once…" Robin said with a slight huff, crossing her talons once more as she got ready to try and slip back into a meditative state. She wasn't one to give up so easily, and so far she hasn't found a problem she couldn't solve with perseverance.

Viper gave her slightly sympathetic look, still hanging lightly from the branch she had been meditating on. "How about we take a break from this and go for a couple rounds of spars? That might help take your mind off things."

The peacock looked over to her trainer with a smile before nodding, slowly getting to her feet and shaking out her slightly crumpled tactician's coat. "I think that's a good idea. I could use a distraction right about now… too many things plaguing my mind." Plus, she had never fought Viper before, only seen her in action with some of the other members of the Furious Five. She was quite elegant with her long, whip-like strikes and her swift slithering movements, it was easy to see why she had been a good ribbon dancer. She couldn't be that difficult to figure out.

* * *

About an hour and a half later, Robin was being slammed into the dirt for what must've been the twentieth time in a row, groaning softly as she slowly rolled onto her stomach. "Ooh, sorry, Robin… was that too hard?" The soft, apologetic voice of Viper reached the peacock's ears, prompting her to shake her head as she slowly rose into a sitting position.

"N-No, you're alright, Viper… you're so much stronger than you look…" She said, nursing her wing a bit where she had taken a particularly hard hit from the snake's tail.

Robin initially thought that Viper's main strength was her dexterity, weaving inbetween attacks while getting in some shots of her own when she saw openings. She had been partially correct, but quickly realized that another thing that gave her an edge was just how _strong_ she was, given her slippery form. Each time she lashed out with her tail, it felt like she was getting hit with a pure steel rod. She wasn't quite as strong as Chrom or Vaike, but she was up there.

The snake chuckled a little as she slowly slithered over. "I'll take that as a compliment, thank you. Perhaps we could go one more? I'll try not to hit as hard this time around."

Robin glanced up at the sky, noting that it was just barely showing the hints of an orangish hue, meaning that it must be somewhere around the afternoon at the moment. It was a little hard to tell what time it was sometimes in the Palace, but the tactician made do. She nodded slightly, getting back to her talons with a huff. "Alright, one more… then let's try going back to meditating. I think I can make some more progress, now that I've cleared my mind a bit."

"Sounds like a plan to me! Remember your stance," Viper pointed at the peacock's talons, prompting her to shift them a little wider and bend her legs a tad, looking determined to get this right. "And… let us begin!"

The two warriors sprung across the dirt at almost exactly the same time, leaving deep scuffs in the ground from where they pushed off. Robin was the first to swing at her adversary, jabbing her sharp talons out with a kick that Viper easily avoided with a twist to her left. She carried her momentum into a sharp jab of her tail, though Robin was prepared for this as she turned and blocked it with a quick flourish of her long train of feathers. It was a bit of a transition, going from swordplay to unarmed combat, but the tactician was taking the change well.

Seeing that her block has worked as effectively as she hoped, the peacock turned back around on a dime for a spinning chop with her right wing. Viper quickly ducked underneath the feathers flying towards her, taking the opportunity to swing her tail at Robin's exposed talons. She squawked a bit with surprise when she was suddenly swept off of her feet, landing on the dirt below with a thud. Already knowing that the snake was going to press the attack now that she was vulnerable, she rolled back onto her feet as soon as she was able to, narrowly avoiding a quick stroke from Viper's tail.

The two warriors were at a brief stalemate now, each of them slowly circling each other while Robin lightly nursed her slightly bruised wing from the small fall. Their eyes pierced each other with sharp gazes, determination burning behind calculated stares. The tactician may be tired and slightly worse for wear, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. She waited until she saw Viper finally make some movement, quickly dashing to the side so she could avoid the quick strike that Viper threw with her long, powerful tail. Without hesitating she went for a chopping strike at the snake's neck with her left wing, hoping that she was more vulnerable there. Viper barely managed to duck underneath the blow, retaliating by hitting the peacock square in the chest with the end of her tail.

Robin grunted and stumbled back onto one knee, huffing softly. Her breathing was heavy now, starting to feel a bit sore from getting tossed around the sparring grounds like a ragdoll. She continued to stare down Viper until she let her wings droop slightly at her sides. "Hah… you sure know how to exploit every weakness you see…" She muttered, huffing softly as she dropped her guard to nurse her side.

Viper slithered over, looking a little apologetic even though she knew it was only training. "Apologies for your injuries, but you're getting better! Most wouldn't be able to keep up with the five of us like you and Chrom have, so well done." She said with a smile.

Robin couldn't help but smile back, nodding a little. "I feel like I have been making good progress, yes… hopefully it will be enough to help with missions during our stay here." She said, groaning a bit as she stood back up to her full height. If there was one thing that Robin hated, it was feeling like a deadweight during battles.

"Master Viper is correct, Robin." Master Shifu's voice suddenly said from behind her, making her jump up a couple feet with surprise and whirl around to face the small red panda, who was quite clearly amused. The mystery of Shifu's speed was something that still eluded her. "Your training is going well, for someone who only picked up kung fu a few days ago."

Robin took a moment to catch her breath before bowing with respect, now knowing that it was customary to do so. Viper seemed to stifle a giggle behind her. "Thank you, Master Shifu… I appreciate your kind words."

Shifu nodded with his gnarled staff in hand, still smiling lightly at his two students. "Which is why I thought it was time you and Chrom went along with the Five and Po for your first mission, tomorrow."

Robin's eyes widened and her brow rose with surprise, not expecting to be able to go out on missions so soon. "Truly? Well, I thank you for your confidence in our skills, Master Shifu." She thanked with another slight bow.

"A mission? Where are we headed out to this time, Master?" Viper asked curiously, not knowing about such an excursion until now.

Shifu replied by holding out a small piece of parchment with some unreadable text scribbled over it, obviously some kind of message that Robin couldn't make heads or tails of. 'Damn, I almost forgot that I need to learn this language… maybe I could get some lessons from one of the Five…'

"It's a message from a nearby rice farming village, they say they've been having trouble with products being stolen and they've requested our aid. Most likely nothing more than a small band of hooligans, but it will make a good first mission for our three newest students." The old master said, glancing over to Robin with a slight nod.

Both Robin and Viper bowed once more, the peacock lightly grimacing as her side flared up with aches a tad. "We will leave first thing in the morning then, Master Shifu." Viper said mid-bow.

"That is what Tigress told me as well. Since Po is not quite ready to be the leader on these missions, you will continue to follow Tigress's lead." Shifu said as the two students returned to standing upright.

Robin's expression didn't change much at the news other than a slight frown, but inwardly she was a bit more worried. 'Tigress is leading…? That could be problematic... Hopefully she's gotten over her dislike of Chrom and I for this mission at least a little bit. I want to show that I can do more than just fight, after all.' While she hasn't been as openly aggressive towards the pair since that first day, she has been actively avoiding or ignoring them. It will be interesting to see how she orders them around on the battlefield.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she almost missed Viper bowing once more, making the peacock frown slightly and copy her movements, not wanting to seem rude. "Yes, Master Shifu." The two intoned.

Shifu was silent for a moment before nodding curtly, tapping the butt of his staff lightly into the dirt. "Good, I will leave the rest of the night for you to prepare then." And with that, he began to hobble away, at a normal pace this time instead of seemingly disappearing like he sometimes did. Honestly, Robin was kind of hoping he would mess with them again, just so she could catch a glimpse of how fast he could actually move.

There was a slight beat of silence between the two of them before Viper glanced over at Robin with a smile on her fanged face. "Your first mission! I bet that's gotta be exciting for you!"

Robin smiles back, but it wasn't quite a full one. She was a bit preoccupied with how she would perform in front of Tigress and the others. "It is quite exciting, yes…" She muttered, her brow furrowed slightly as she stood there, obviously deep in thought.

Viper's smile wavered slightly, but she simply shook her head, chuckling and smoothing out the bottom of Robin's long tactician coat with her tail. "You'll be fine. Tigress won't totally prevent you from fighting, after all, she's much more sensible than that."

"I know that, but if I'm going to make any steps forward in trying to earn her respect, then I must be near flawless tomorrow… I'll have to run a plan by Chrom tonight." She said with a soft sigh, running a wing through her crest of feathers.

"... If you say so. Just try not to worry so much and do what you do best, you'll be fine. She'll be more distracted with Po, anyway." Viper said with a reassuring grin.

Robin smiled back, nodding slowly and chuckling a little. "You're probably right, but it can never hurt to think things over. As I always say, there's no such thing as over-preparation."

It was a sound phrase. She managed to get through an entire war with only minimal casualties just on that sentence, after all.

Hopefully it will be able to get her through living in an entirely different world.

* * *

**Thank you for sticking with me this far if you have. Not much to say at this point, if you have any thoughts please be sure to leave a review. I appreciate all of them!**

**UPDATE: 5/21/2020: Continuity error, nothing major.**


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